Roads to Prosperity Highway Program: Centerpiece of Economic Recovery for West Virginia
The Roads to Prosperity Amendment of 2017 set into motion a proposed $2.8 billion road program that includes various types of roadway and bridge construction, including corridor expansion, resurfacing, bridge repair/replacement, slide repairs, guardrail installations, and drainage repairs/modifications. Living on an annual funding diet of $100-$200 million for State-Funded capital improvements and $425 million for Federal-Aid capital improvements for decades, the roadway transportation network in West Virginia has been grossly underfunded.
With this proposed $2.8 billion of project infusion into the network, the quality of life for West Virginians is on the rise. Local, secondary roads are getting the appropriate treatments necessary to make them acceptable routes upon which to travel. A number of the 7,000 bridges throughout the State are either approaching or exceeding 50 years of service life and are being replaced. Guardrail is being placed/replaced in strategically-safe locations and slide corrections are being completed to add to the health of the network. West Virginians are seeing a safer and more solid transportation network.
In addition to the Roads to Prosperity Program, with transportation being the centerpiece of Governor Jim Justice’s gubernatorial campaign, the following bond programs within the Roads to Prosperity Program are already in place:
- Wave B Pay as You Go: $146.622 million in Resurfacing, Bridge, Guardrail, and Drainage Projects (Completed)
- GARVEE 2017 and GARVEE 2018: $249.879 million in Interstate Reconstruction, Bridge Repairs/Replacements, and Drainage Projects (Completed)
- General Obligation 1 and 2-3: $913 million and $746.5 million of Widening, Corridor Construction, Bridge Renovations/Replacements, and Secondary Road Projects (Underway)
- Turnpike 1 and Turnpike 2020: $425.7 million+ Operational Improvements, Bridge Replacements, and Corridor Construction Projects (Underway)
The quality of life for West Virginians, with respect to transportation, will continue to improve for years to come.
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