Benwood Industrial Park Gets Paved
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BENWOOD -- The dust may just have settled for now in Benwood as the city's industrial park has a newly paved roadway courtesy of Mull Industries.
Mull Industries owns much of the northern industrial park in Benwood, while the city oversees the separated southern end of the industrial park area.
Mull Industries is spending more than $200,000 to now lay asphalt in the park, and city officials are pursuing plans to purchase a right of way between the parks so trucks can travel straight through to and from W.Va. 2.
For years, an estimated 75 to 100 large trucks have traveled daily in and out of the industrial park -- kicking up equally large amounts of dust and mud that quickly covered nearby cars and homes and wreaked havoc with the city's sewer system.
Debris frequently got into the system, burning up motors that cost $15,000 each.
Police Chief Frank Longwell explained the industrial park once belonged to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, and over the years its roadways deteriorated.
The city of Benwood tried cleaning and sweeping the privately-owned road, laying gravel and other methods to reduce dust and mud.
But the results were only temporary, he said. Someone who would wash their car one day could come back 24 hours later be able to write their name in the dust that accumulated over that time, Longwell said.
"It was horrible," he said. "We bought a street sweeper and tried to maintain and stay on top of it and at least make it tolerable for residents. It was a nightmare for both the residents and the city."
Two weeks ago, city officials met with officials from Mull Industries to discuss what could be done about the issue. In the end, Mull Industries agreed to pave the road. Wilson Blacktop did the work for about $201,000, Longwell said.
"I'm sure the residents are happy," he said. "I know we're happy."
The new asphalt also could pave the way to more development in the industrial park area. Longwell and Benwood Public Works Director David McLaughlin said Benwood is presently negotiating with CSX to obtain 2,200 square feet of land to build a road connecting the northern and southern industrial parks.
If this road is built, trucks would enter and exit the parks at the ramp onto W.Va. 2 near McMechen, and there would be no need for them to travel into the residential areas of Benwood, McLaughlin said.
"Our long-term goal is to eliminate truck traffic in Center Benwood because right now they travel the road 24/7," he said. "This wears down our roads quicker, and residents don't want to listen to the constant banging of trucks."
There are still 75 acres of land in the industrial parks that can be developed, according to Longwell and McLaughlin.