With respect to freight transportation, this Plan makes recommendations and provisions pertaining to truck, rail and river traffic, which are the modes by which freight is moved within the County.

With regard to truck traffic, two issues must be addressed. One is the need to provide roads that are adequate to safely and efficiently move truck traffic on the major through routes in the County. The second is to provide facilities that allow trucks to reach those areas targeted or currently used to support economic development.

Two of the major elements included in the Plan are significant in relation to both issues. One of the advantages, offered by both the Eldora/Enterprise Connector and the Rivesville Connector, is that they can open areas for economic development that are now too inaccessible for that to be feasible. If built to current standards for roadways, they will provide quality access to areas of the County with identified potential for economic development.

As the Development Factors Report makes clear, Marion County has become a part of a larger economic area that is structured around the transportation corridor provided by I-79. However, due to constraints imposed by topography, finding areas that are level enough to nurture this trend is difficult. By providing lateral routes connecting I-79 to larger areas on either side, the phenomenon of the I-79 economy can be enhanced and encouraged. Both of these facilities will contribute to accomplishing this end.

One of the concerns that surfaced repeatedly throughout the public involvement portion of this project, has been the desire to reduce the volume of trucks passing through the heart of downtown Fairmont. Both of these facilities will also provide alternatives that will allow commercial traffic to reach the western areas of Marion County without passing through the center of Fairmont, and thus will contribute to the accomplishment of this end as well.

An important reason for following through with the recommended upgrades to the primary routes in the County, including US 250, US 19, WV 218, and WV 310, is to make those facilities better equipped to safely carry commercial truck traffic.

With regard to rail traffic, it should be restated that there is now only one primary active rail line in Marion County. This is a CSX line that follows the old B&O line through the County along the Tygart Valley and Monongahela Rivers on route from Grafton to Morgantown and points beyond. Two spurs run off this line; one to an active coal mine in Fairview and the other across the Monongahela River to the American Fibers paper recycling plant across the river from Rivesville.

It is the recommendation of this Plan that the State of West Virginia and Marion County establish as a policy position that everything possible should be done to retain rail service in Marion County. This should include staying in close touch with CSX to provide support for continued rail service and resisting any attempts by the railroad to abandon this line. To the extent that the County is successful in retaining and redeveloping its manufacturing base, maintaining access to rail transportation will be a contributing factor to a positive outcome.

Over the last decade, the importance of rail as a shipping mode in the United States has begun to increase following a long period of decline. This is in part a result of the increased emphasis on containerization and multi-modalism in shipping that was made possible by the Federal policy of deregulation, and in part due to high labor requirements and costs in the trucking industry.

With regard to river shipping of freight, the Monongahela River still offers a viable option for shipping bulk freight. Shipment by water still offers substantial cost advantages to any other competitive shipping mode. Two river port facilities are now in use in Marion County for loading and offloading freight from river barges. These are a coal loading facility on the east bank of the river near the Phillips Lighting plant across the river from the Bellview area of Fairmont and a second facility at Catawba near the Monongalia County line. The coal loading facility, which now serves a nearby strip mine, is well positioned within the overall transportation system to be used in the long term as a river loading facility. Road improvements called for in other sections of this Plan, including the Rivesville Connector and upgrades to Suncrest Boulevard (CR 73/28), will provide good access to this location. It may even be possible, should it be found desirable, to use this site as a rail-to-river transfer facility.

The Catawba facility, while close to the interstate, is constrained by the poor quality of road access to the site. The owner of the facility has in the past requested that the State provide upgraded road access via CR 74 at a cost of $2.7 million and has also requested that an interchange be added to I-79 at CR 76. The requested interchange is not feasible at that location, due to the close proximity of exit and entrance ramps to a truck weigh station on

I-79 less than half a mile north. Creation of a new interchange at such a short distance would create a hazardous weaving of traffic as slow moving trucks leaving the weigh station interact with vehicles trying to access the exit ramp of the new interchange. The normal Federal Highway Administration requirement for this interval is at least one mile, and it seems unlikely that it would be waived in this instance.

Improved access to Catawba through an upgrade to CR 74 clearly is feasible. If it can be demonstrated through an appropriate market analysis and business plan that an expanded port facility is economically viable and justifies the required level of public investment, implementation of these improvements should be considered.

It is worth noting that there are funding sources available for upgrading port facilities, mainly through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In order to access these funds, the State’s Port Authority would need to recognize local support for an area to be given Provisional Port District status. Once a Provisional Port District status has been granted, a reconnaissance study would be commissioned through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and inventory the area.

The next step would be for a site study to be performed on the proposed area. If all goes well, the Port Authority may vote in favor of making the area a Port District and would work with the Port to develop its potential. This puts the Port in a better position to receive future funds for development.

Increasingly, the freight shipment business in the United States has come to be dominated by containerized shipping, which eases the transition from one mode to another. Containerized shipping has led to operating agreements between railroads and trucking companies and between trucking companies and barge lines. If one of the river port facilities could be upgraded to include container shipping capabilities, it would greatly enhance the competitive position of river shipping in Marion County and make it a transition point for river shipments headed to points located further east. Potentially this could be a significant economic development initiative for Marion County.

The only airport now operating in Marion County is the Fairmont Municipal Airport in Pleasant Valley. This is a general aviation airport and currently supports no commercial traffic. Due to space limitations, there is little potential for expansion. Moreover, there are two excellent airports within a half-hour driving time to the north and south at Morgantown and Bridgeport. In fact, Benedum Airport at Bridgeport has been the recipient of significant investment of State and Federal funds in recent years and is fast becoming the regional airport for central West Virginia.

It is, therefore, recommended that in the future Marion County rely on these two facilities for commercial air service. In the long run, Marion County may be better served by utilizing the 50-acre site now occupied by the Airport as an opportunity for economic development.

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