The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) plans to use $150 million in supplemental funding requested by Gov. Jim Justice to pave more than 830 miles of roads.
“The need for this paving right now is great,” said West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E. “Our core maintenance plan has outperformed our budget for paving. These roads are ready to go.”
Core maintenance – filling potholes, clearing ditches and making sure existing roads are smooth, clean and dry – has gone so well that many state roads are ready to be repaved now, instead of later. If those routes aren’t paved soon, they’ll have to be patched again in the spring.
In anticipation of the West Virginia Legislature approving Governor Justice’s supplemental budget request, the WVDOH began paving many roads in July. “I didn’t want to lose a paving season,” Wriston said.
Thanks to Governor Justice's Roads to Prosperity program and Secondary Roads initiative, WVDOH has been able to implement training, provide updated equipment, hire new employees and support workers in what once seemed impossible. Wriston implemented an aggressive, statewide, systematic approach to maintenance as WVDOH works to catch up on years of underinvestment in West Virginia's roads.
The WVDOH project list includes projects in every single delegate district in the state. Paving will be done not only on secondary roads in every county, but one some major state and US routes.
In June 2021, the Legislature approved a request from Gov. Justice for $150 million in supplemental funding for the WVDOH. That money paid for 400 projects, including 742 miles of paving, slip repairs and bridge projects.
With work continuing in all 55 counties across the state, the West Virginia Division of Highways and the West Virginia Department of Transportation remind the public of the importance of keeping everyone safe in work zones by keeping “Heads up; phones down!”