Over the weekend, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice issued a proclamation calling for a special session on Monday to address economic policy and West Virginia road work. The announcement came as legislators already were scheduled to be in Charleston for regularly scheduled interim committee meetings.
When Monday came, state lawmakers passed two bills to boost highway funding in the state.
The purpose of the legislation is to route unappropriated 2021 surplus revenue from the state’s general fund to the Department of Transportation’s Division of Highways.
The first bill, SB4002, would take advantage of the state’s budget surplus to pay for upgrades to secondary roads around the state. The bill transfers $150 million for maintenance work.
The second bill, SB4003, specifies that $125 million would be used for projects and $25 million would be allotted for equipment.
According to the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), approximately 500 paving projects remain this year, which is roughly 800 miles of work.
Over 29,000 projects have been completed so far this year.
Both bills now now wait on the governor's signature.
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Source: Landline Media
