February 1, 2005

Damron Bradshaw

Coal trucks should be allowed to use turnpike to bypass town

Stephen R. Covey coined the phrase “win-win situation” in his bestseller, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” In Chesapeake, several parties have ended up with winning situations, but the town faces a losing situation.

Chesapeake’s discord is caused by the Legislature, coal owners, coal haulers, drivers, the state Department of Transportation, river tipples, the Public Service Commission and the federal government. The town is required to allow massive loaded coal trucks to transport their loads through the town to the river tipples. The town has no authority to do anything about it. Chesapeake will win when coal trucks must bypass the city and river tipple operators must clean up the mess the trucks make on the road at their terminals.

Years ago, when the weight limit on W.Va. 61 was 65,000 pounds, coal owners loaded trucks to excesses of 165,000 pounds. A coalition of Chesapeake residents and the town council asked the state DOT and the PSC to enforce the law. But when scale crews arrived, the trucks went away. When enforcement crews went away, the trucks returned.

The town then spent $8,000 for a set of scales, which we could not afford. Amazingly, after the town stopped only one truck, the trucks no longer drove through town, but instead traveled a six-mile stretch of the West Virginia Turnpike and completely bypassed Chesapeake. Everyone seemed happy. Within three months, the town was clean from end-to-end and people were saying how nice it looked.

But alas, that did not last long. The Legislature allowed coal trucks of 120,000 pounds on certain roads, including the road through Chesapeake — but not on the Turnpike, which is a federal interstate highway with lower limits. Thus, the trucks were forced off the Turnpike and back through Chesapeake. Now the town is dirty, unsafe, environmentally deficient and unhealthy due to dirt and dust stirred up by the weight and speed of these behemoths. Homes along the highway have to be washed, porches must be swept daily, cars parked along the highway must be constantly washed, and property values have lessened tremendously.

Is there no justice?

Coal trucks must also cross two bridges each time they pass through Chesapeake. One, the humpback bridge, is located at Winifrede Junction, a quarter-mile from town. It has a real, but unposted weight limit of 37 tons. The bridge is constantly being repaired and patched by the DOH. The other is a small, unsafe cement bridge 20 feet outside the corporate limit. It is slated for replacement. More than 400 trucks, full and empty, cross this bridge daily. Twice, signs announcing a 49-ton weight limit have been erected and removed.

At either end of town, out of the corporate limits, river tipples wash the trucks as they enter and leave. This makes the road slippery and dirty. The tipple owners make commendable, but ineffective efforts to clean up. They recently offered to come into town and help with some cleanup. That is appreciated.

Councilman-at-Large Roger L. Green and I discussed all of the above with Delegate Bonnie Brown, D-Kanawha, Assistant Highways Superintendent Norman Roush and two officials from the PSC Enforcement Division. The town wants the state to allow the trucks on I-77, the Turnpike. Roush told us that it would take an act of Congress to do that. Yet, every day, trucks are allowed to haul their loads from Mossy and Pax in Fayette County to Paint Creek and Sharon in Kanawha County. The PSC officials said that, with 450 bridges to watch, they can only selectively enforce weight limits.

At the next meeting of the town council, several angry citizens asked that something be done. A resolution was sent to every legislator from Kanawha County. To date, only Sen. Vic Sprouse has responded in writing. He said he would offer legislation. Delegate Brown told us verbally she would do the same. Congresswoman Capito’s office has not returned calls. Sen. Byrd’s letter said it is a state, not a federal, issue. Highways superintendent Fred VanKirk sent a letter saying it’s a federal issue rather than a state issue.

Let’s be logical. What is 400 coal trucks per day on the six-mile stretch of the Turnpike, compared to miles of traffic that backs up at the tollbooths during holidays? The speed limit on the four-lane highway is 65 mph, versus 35, 45 and 55 on the two-lane roads. Moving the trucks to I-77 should satisfy coal owners, truck owners and drivers, the Legislature and certainly the residents of Chesapeake.

Chesapeake does have options, but the town does not want to impede coal getting to market. Council and residents do not want anyone to lose a job, a company to shut down or coal to be kept away from the tipples. But if Chesapeake were to annex the highways at either end of town, it could control the messy highways and enforce bridge weight limits. Charleston has passed a fee for anyone working in town. Chesapeake could do the same for trucks that pass through town. Trucks could be stopped and inspected for many reasons.

Could you imagine great lines of stopped trucks? No, and neither can I.

Let’s be realistic. Coal is one of the hottest commodities in the entire nation. It makes energy that makes us comfortable and is probably our greatest rnational defense and security resource. Coal is used in the manufacture of steel that makes our weapons.

Chesapeake will not go away. The town is only asking that trucks be allowed on a six-mile stretch of Turnpike and that the tipple owners find a way to clean the roads. Coal owners are much more powerful than our small town. They could cause this to happen with little effort.

How about some relief for Chesapeake and its residents? With just a stroke of a federal pen, the Turnpike, I-77, could be deemed a defense highway. Then every player would have a win-win situation

Bradshaw is mayor of Chesapeake.