US Route 33’s eastbound lanes coming off the summit of Allegheny Mountain toward Seneca Rocks remain a point of danger, according to Rick Gillespie, Pendleton County Emergency Services coordinator.
“Once again, we have witnessed a runaway tractor-trailer crash on US 33/Allegheny Mountain in Pendleton County,” began Gillespie’s letter to Governor Patrick Morrisey.
Nine years ago, the state agreed to put a $17.5 million “catch net” system on what local officials described in 2023 as “the most dangerous little stretch of roadway in West Virginia.” Funding would have come from then-Governor Jim Justice’s “Roads to Prosperity” $1.6 billion bond issue.
Preliminary acceptance of that project helped to generate Pendleton County support for the governor’s initiative.
The project would have included a quarter mile escape ramp and a “catch net” system similar to the equipment and methods used to safely decelerate fighter jets landing on aircraft carriers.
Catch net systems use a series of nets to slow the momentum of and stop runaway trucks or other large vehicles. According to a past edition of the Jackson Hole News and Guide in Wyoming, tests showed that the system had no trouble slowing and stopping a 60,000-pound truck traveling at 60 miles an hour. They are designed to stop a 90,000-pound vehicle.
Then James Rossi, head of the department of transportation, removed the project from consideration, downgrading first to an escape ramp, then approving a more robust version of guardrails, which is now in use on the mountain. Though West Virginia officials cited system failure as the reason to pass, three Rocky Mountain states feature it on their dangerous roadways.
Recent accidents have once again raised the question of safety on that section of US 33, on which come increasing numbers of trucks and tourists annually.
The state put in place TL 5 barriers that serve as doubly reinforced guardrails. Pillars from them extend deep into the ground and do make them sturdy enough to keep vehicles on the roadway if control is lost.
As Gillespie stated in his letter, however, “As I and others predicted, it did deflect off the barriers and encroach to a large degree into oncoming lanes of travel.” He explained that “had a vehicle been approaching from the opposite direction, it would have been crushed by the rig.”
Referring to the situation as “Russian roulette,” Gillespie posited a situation where a runaway truck could strike a bus loaded with passengers, creating “a mass casualty event.”
Commodity flow studies conducted by the state share that the most frequent chemical trucked over Allegheny Mountain is anhydrous ammonia. This substance, according to Airgas, a specialty chemical products company, is “a hygroscopic compound that seeks out moisture from any nearby source,” which is used in agriculture. It stated further that “the moisture-rich tissue from our bodies is at risk” when in close contact with the substance. Both superchilled and with a tendency to rapidly draw moisture from tissues, it represents an extreme danger to both crash victims and first responders.
Even worse, Gillespie reported that the accident compromised the guardrails to the point that they will need extensive work to regain their effectiveness, necessitating another long closure of one lane of the highway. The rails originally cost $600,000 in funds and months of time to install. The state now faces the likelihood of having to repair the guardrails on a regular basis if they cannot be strengthened further to withstand the impacts more effectively.
He added that “while Corridor H is a great and needed highway, it will NEVER eliminate the truck traffic on US 33.”
