Tom Warne Report, 25 January 2013
A governor’s commission is recommending the state spend an additional $1.1 billion each year to preserve and expand the state’s road system. The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways has suggested that the state spend $750 million annually on maintenance to preserve the existing infrastructure, and another $380 million per year on expansion projects.
The commission’s recommendations are preliminary, as a final plan must be approved by the full commission before it will be presented to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in May.
Commission member Marc Meachum, president and executive director of the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce, said the commission’s focus has been more on maintaining existing roadways before building new ones.
He said the $1.1 billion recommendation spending numbers may decrease as the proposals go through other subcommittees and to the Legislature.