Connecting West Virginia
SAMANTHA CART
West Virginians are connected by many intangible things — a shared heritage , a determined spirit and a fierce state pride . While these traits have forged strong bonds , there are other , more visible assets that connect us both physically and digitally , including transportation systems and communications infrastructure .
While safe , sufficient roadways and reliable , high-speed internet drive business investments , career and educational opportunities and health care access , many rural Appalachian communities have had difficulty securing the necessary substructures and initiatives to obtain and maintain these resources . There are still approximately 324,000 addresses in West Virginia considered to be unserved by a high-speed internet service provider ( ISP ). Meanwhile , the declining condition of the state ’ s roads and bridges has been a central topic of discussion since the formation of the West Virginia Blue Ribbon Highway Commission in 2012 .
However , leadership across the Mountain State has taken steps over the past several years to improve and upgrade West Virginia ’ s country roads and connectivity in an effort to ensure Almost Heaven remains a desirable place to live , work and play .
Repairing West Virginia ’ s Roads
Over the last several decades , a lack of funding for major road repairs inadvertently led to neglect , which has shown itself in deteriorating infrastructure and highway safety concerns . In 2017 , 71 % of those who voted backed Governor Jim Justice ’ s Roads to Prosperity Amendment , showing their support for improved road conditions , upgrades and expansions . Over the past five years , Roads to Prosperity has transformed into the Drive Forward West Virginia initiative , which seeks to create immediate economic recovery through a $ 2.8 billion investment in transportation improvements across the state . As one of the largest infrastructure programs in West Virginia ’ s history , the initiative has seen more than 700 active projects ; created an estimated 48,000 jobs ; and impacted more than 1,200 miles of roadways .
According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation ( DOT ), at the end of 2022 , there will have been over 800 miles of paving work and 51,000 miles of road maintenance completed across all of West Virginia ’ s 55 counties . Some of the most well-known projects include repairs or renovations to Corridor H , Interstate 64 , the Coalfields Expressway and the King Coal Highway and the completion of U . S . Route 35 .
According to Jimmy Wriston , P . E ., secretary of the West Virginia DOT , the completion of these large projects is being made possible by the bold , broad strokes of the Drive Forward initiative .
“ The projects in this program are regionally significant ,” he says . “ These are the types of projects we were piecemealing over for years . We were always working on them , but we would never get them done . There have been people working for this organization that have spent their entire careers on single projects , simply because the funding was not there to push them to the end . Roads to Prosperity saved our state .”
Justice ’ s bond program had a multi-level effect , allowing the DOT to push large projects to the head of the queue while also freeing up other revenue streams so the department could get back to its roots and focus on maintenance .
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