The cost to construct the Southern Beltway from Route 22 to Interstate 79 has been high — and it’s not just the $900 million price tag. Construction of the 13-mile highway disrupted lives, livelihoods and the environment along the path it carved through the countryside. The most extensive damage occurred in southern McDonald, Washington County, where reshaping the terrain initiated or exacerbated flooding problems that ended up chasing several families from their homes. We can say that the Turnpike Commission should have been more careful, and we have. But the truth is that there are always unintended consequences when excavating...