OAKVALE, WV (WOAY) – A group of Oakvale residents are angry with the Department of Highways (DOH) for their lack of response regarding a road in desperate need of repairs.
Cumberland Road in Oakvale has severe cracking caused by pressure from train tracks located above the road. In April, the road suffered from a mudslide. Kimberley Ballard, a resident of Oakvale, says it’s only a matter of time before the road crumbles.
“Everything is happening to the road. We’re getting cracks in the road, we have trees falling down. We have a new buckle that happened two Thursdays ago. This road is just falling apart,” said Ballard.
Residents claim they have been contacting the DOH for months and have not received confirmation of repairs. On Wednesday afternoon, an engineer from the DOH met with the mayor, town council and concerned residents with an update.
“By the end of the month we’ll pave that section, it is not going to stay gravel, but if we paved it two weeks ago it would’ve continued to settle and it would have cracked and it would not be an effective use of the money. So we do have a plan how we’re addressing the steps up to this date,” said District 10 Engineer Joseph Pack.
According to Pack, reconstruction on Cumberland Road will take place immediately and says within 30 days, residents will see results.
“He’s saying that it would be done in the next 30 days, and he may be doing some minor excavation if the weather cooperates. We have given timelines before so I’m hoping this one he’ll stick with,” said Ballard.
Pack says the DOH will continue to monitor the road until reconstruction takes place.
