MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — On Wednesday, Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom reported that construction to widen Mileground Road was “guaranteed” to wrap up in August. So on Thursday, 12 News spoke to several businesses in the area to get their thoughts on the timeline.

In full, Bloom said, “The Mileground is guaranteed to be done before August when the students come back. It’s guaranteed in August. Let’s see what happens.”

“That’s bold,” said Nate Kaniecki, who works at the West Virginia Music Center, which opened its Mileground location in September of 2022, in the thick of construction. “It’s exciting because every day it looks so rough around here, but I’m sure one day I’ll come and it’ll be beautiful out of nowhere. So I hope he’s right.”

While there was outright skepticism among some business owners who opted not to speak on-camera, the manager at MPE Rentals believes the Division of Highways and its contractor will hit the August target date.

“The contractors that have been doing it have been very respectful,” he said. “Everything they said that they’re going to do, they do it. They’re going by the state’s plan and they’re doing what they get paid to do and I think they’re doing really well.”

In 2018, 12 News reported that the project—which will ultimately widen Mileground Road between Donna Avenue and the Route 705 roundabout from three lanes to five—was slated to wrap up in October of 2020.