Commission moves ahead on Clarksburg Water Crossing bridge design and pushes state on grant administration

The Harrison County Commission voted July 16 to advertise for contractors to build the Clarksburg Water Crossing rail-trail bridge on Route 19, after prolonged discussion about grant administration and related trail funding.

Commissioners and county staff reviewed grant details, past county allocations and the project’s relationship to other trail segments. County staff said the project has roughly $1.3 million in a state grant award but that the West Virginia Department of Highways (Charleston) indicated it intends to administer the contract and the federal/state contract documents have not been completed. County staff confirmed local funds of about $2 million are set aside across accounts (including an $800,000 ARPA allocation, $700,000 in a county improvement account and other previously approved amounts). Commissioners discussed cost estimates between $1.7 million and $2 million for the bridge and associated trail work.

Because the state may administer the grant and handle contracting, commissioners debated whether the county should proceed to hire a contractor itself or defer to the state. County staff said the state typically administers projects once they reach a certain stage and that work already completed (designs, geotechnical surveys) should be accepted by state engineers. Commissioners directed staff to press the state for a contract and moved to advertise the bridge work to keep the project progressing.

FEMA mitigation and flood repairs: Separately, the commission considered FEMA options for repairs to flood-damaged trail bridges stemming from August 2023 flooding. Jason Means (Division of Emergency Management, Charleston office, on Zoom) summarized that an originally estimated $180,000 scope was recalculated under new federal rules to approximately $72,866.45. FEMA’s federal share would be about $54,649.84; the county’s nonfederal share is about $18,216.61. Means said the county can either (1) dispute FEMA’s recalculation, (2) proceed with an improved project (which still requires FEMA environmental review) or (3) take an ‘‘alternate project’’ approach and use the reduced FEMA funds for related repairs or materials. Commissioners voted to move forward with applying for FEMA funds and to pursue the federal portion and seek the state’s nonfederal cost-share through existing contingency channels.

Why it matters: Commissioners said completing the bridge would extend and connect the rail-trail network, supporting recreation and economic development. Several commissioners cautioned that the bridge alone would not complete the entire trail connection and that additional trail work and parking/access improvements would be needed.

What’s next: Staff were directed to follow up with the Division of Highways to secure the contract/administration timeline for the state grant, to advertise for bids to keep momentum, and to submit FEMA alternate-project or materials requests consistent with the emergency-management guidance.