February 26, 2001 Route 9 Meeting Update

Officials from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH), the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office and consultants working for WVDOH attended the meeting.

"We organized this meeting so that all of the groups could come together to discuss the issues surrounding the development of the alignments for this section of Route 9," said Randy Epperly, deputy state highway engineer, WVDOH. "We carefully reviewed the alignments and discussed the possible effects that may occur in their surrounding areas. When working to develop better highway systems for our state, it is our intention to make the least impact possible to the areas where these roads are built."

The group's discussion focused on several environmental and historical sites along the proposed route.

According to Epperly, it is important to make sure that all agencies involved work together. "This group effort will help us to develop the preferred alignment so that the road will have the least possible impact to historical and environmental resources, while at the same time provide the best possible transportation route," he said.

To ensure that everyone at the meeting had an understanding of the properties involved, representatives from the WVDOH led the group on a site tour. The group visited the following sites and their surrounding areas: Gap View, Tackley Farm, Kearneysville Interchange, Sunnyside/Western View, Widmyer Farm/Minor Hurst, Travellers Rest, Stone House Mansion, the Locust Grove Farm, wetlands and other natural resources.

The following are photos taken at the February 9 meeting and site tour:

Representatives from the West Virginia Division of Highways, the Federal Highway Administration, the State Historic Preservation Office and consultants working for the West Virginia Division of Highways met in Martinsburg to discuss the status of the Martinsburg to Charles Town section of Route 9. The group is pictured reviewing a map featuring the different proposed alignments for the area.		The Federal Highway Administration's Dennis Decker and Ed Compton look with the West Virginia Division of Highways' Norse Angus at the proposed Gap View alignment during the group's first stop.

View of the proposed alignment area at Gap View.		Members of the group take a close look at the Peter Burr house, located near the proposed Bardane Interchange.

The Federal Highway Administration's Mary Ann Naber, the West Virginia Division of Highways' Randy Epperly, and the State Historic Preservation Office's Susan Pierce, look at a map of a proposed alignment near the William Burr house.		A view of properties near the William Burr house and the proposed Bardane Interchange.

Members of the group near the Hokensmith Apple Storage Building discussing the proposed Bardane Interchange.		The West Virginia Division of Highways Randy Epperly talks with the group about the proposed Kearneysville Interchange.

From left: The Federal Highway Administration's Dave Gamble, Tom Smith and Mary Ann Naber review a map of the Travellers Rest area while on the site.

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