158. IMPACT OF NEW HIGHWAYS ON
AGRICULTURE LANDS
HIGHWAYS
156. AGRICULTURE VEHICLE EXEMPTION
West Virginia Farm Bureau believes agriculture
vehicles (tractors, wagons, trucks, combines) should
be exempt from West Virginia Code §17C-17-6
requirements prohibiting the load from dropping,
sifting, leaking or otherwise escaping therefrom, so
long as the material lost is biodegradable and the
volume does not pose a hazard to other users of the
highway; and no municipalities may infringe upon or
otherwise restrict this exemption.
157. FARM VEHICLE REGULATIONS
Farmers in West Virginia are being stopped
and ticketed for violations of commercial vehicle
regulations. The DMV, DOT, PSC, and State Police
have conflicting rules and regulations for commercial
motor vehicles, or conflicting interpretations of
these rules and regulations. West Virginia Farm
Bureau recommends that the entities involved pursue
reciprocity with their counterparts in adjoining states.
Farm Bureau recommends that farmers be exempt
from commercial motor vehicle regulations, provided
that the motor vehicle is:
• Controlled and operated by a farmer/employee
for private use
• Not being used as a for-hire motor carrier
• Being used to transport either:
• Livestock, crops or other agricultural
products to or from a farm
• Vehicles, machines, materials or supplies to
be used on a farm
• Not carrying hazardous materials of a type or quantity
that requires a hazardous materials placard
38 West Virginia Farm Bureau News
West Virginia Farm Bureau recommends that the
Division of Highways, when planning new highways,
be required to include the impact upon agricultural
lands of such highways. Special emphasis should
be devoted to drainage onto adjacent lands, revegetation, seeding and mulching of road banks.
The state should be responsible for erection and
maintenance of fencing on interstate and limited
access road systems and assume liability for failure
to comply.
159. HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS
One of the major problems affecting the economic
growth of West Virginia is the lack of interstate
highways. West Virginia Farm Bureau supports the
construction of the Little Kanawha River Parkway
from I-79 at Burnsville, via Glenville, Grantsville,
and Elizabeth to I-77 at Mineral Wells.
We also support the construction of an interstate
highway from I-77 in Mercer County to I-64 near
Huntington to replace U.S. Route 52, and the
upgrading of W.V. Route 2 to a 4-lane highway.
We strongly recommend that Corridor H be
completed as soon as possible.
We support the upgrading of US Route 250 from
Corridor H at Norton to US Route 50 in Taylor
County using the most feasible course, intersecting
with Route 50 between Grafton and Clarksburg. We
support the upgrading of Route 50 between Grafton
and Clarksburg and the completion of 4-lane highway
from the Charles Town Route 340 by-pass to the
Virginia state line.
We recommend that Interstate 68 be extended
from Morgantown to intersect with WV Route 2.
160. CONTINENTAL ONE TRADE
CORRIDOR
Because of the negative impact on agriculture,
West Virginia Farm Bureau opposes the Continental
One Trade Corridor concept.
This plan involves the building of a 4-lane
superhighway adjacent to the existing U.S. Rt. 219.
Instead, we favor improvements to the existing road.