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WV ROADS IN DISREPAIR - Mattox Gets An Earful, Calhoun Gets Rock Bottom Funding |
| (05/16/2007) |
| By Bob Weaver West Virginia's road system is in trouble, facing a funding crisis. Not only are motorists facing $3 plus per gallon gasoline prices, they're encountering lots of potholes and bumpy roads. The highway department is likely priming for passage of a major road bond to improve the state's highways and bridges. The Division of Highways is pushing to cut costs and streamline, but that approach - the Core Maintenance plan - is colliding with the reliance by most counties on local road crews to meet needs. Highways Commissioner Paul Mattox got an earful last week from legislators, who have heard from hundreds of workers and citizens about plans to cut back on routine maintenance projects. Mattox promised legislators that his agency does not plan to downsize or outsource, a statement that is being disputed around the state. Legislators were angered about not being informed what the road department is doing. "Here's your sign," commented a DOH worker who asked to remain anonymous, "They're selling off equipment that was considered vital in doing county projects and road work, and they've tried to limit public information about their goals." A second auction is planned for this fall, expected to bring several million dollars. Mattox heads the nation's sixth-largest network of state-maintained roads 36,700 miles of roadway. This year's budget included one-point-one billion dollars in State Road Fund spending. Not enough, according to state officials. A list of regional road projects for 2007 was obtained from the DOH district office using a Freedom of Information request. It appears Calhoun is receiving the smallest amount of money in the state -$582,000, which includes funds for a small stretch of re-paving, some repairs and bridge painting. Read earlier Herald stories on DOH issues.
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