Published: June 19, 2008 11:56 pm      

Z-Way officials seek funds from delayed road projects

DOT spokesman: Project not far enough along to be considered for money

Some members of the Beckley-Raleigh County Transportation Authority think unused funds sitting in the state Department of Transportation’s account from delayed or stalled road projects should be used to complete other projects.

’This area desperately needs roadway money,’ said Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh, a member of the transportation authority. ’It would be nice to see some of these unused funds coming into southern West Virginia.’

Gov. Joe Manchin, with the blessing of the Federal Highway Administration, gave the go-ahead to transfer funding from stalled and delayed road projects to finish Fairmont’s Gateway Connector in Marion County.

’If these road projects were not in a delayed or stalled status, we would not be using the funds,’ said Brent Walker, spokesman with the state DOT. ’With the state facing shrinking state road funds, we are trying to be efficient by taking dollars from these delayed or stalled projects and moving the funding to projects that are ready and waiting to be completed.’

Walker says the delayed and stalled road projects are not losing the funding.

’The funds are put back at the beginning of the next fiscal year,’ he said. ’When those projects are ready to go, the funding will be there.’

The Marion County project has had trouble obtaining the funding needed to complete it. The new connector road will link downtown Fairmont to Interstate 79 and is estimated to cost around $70 million.

Walker says many things can delay or stall a road project.

’Things like permitting, purchasing of right-of-ways, environmental concerns, litigation and a host of other things could delay a road project,’ he explained.

When selecting projects to use the unused funding, Walker says, the keys are projects that are set and ready, but are missing a little funding to complete.

’We will continue to look at all of our options when it comes to funding road projects,’ Walker added.

Walker said the Z-Way project is in its initial study phase and would not be a project considered for this type of funding.

’We want to use those dollars immediately on projects we could complete,’ he said.

However, authority members think the Z-Way project, or at least a portion of it, should be considered for this type of funding as well and not just projects in the northern part of the state.

’The Beckley bypass project is part of the Z-Way project that has over $3 million in federal funding specifically earmarked for its completion,’ said Bill Baker, president of the transportation authority. ’Why isn’t it being considered for this type of funding?’

Baker says the state has delayed the Z-Way project.

’We’ve been pushing them for a long time and just recently did they even begin the initial studies,’ he said. ’We have tried to get the Z-Way project on the state’s six-year highways plan, but that hasn’t happened either.’

Baker added that authority members he has talked to don’t have a problem with this type of creative funding, but are concerned that no projects in the southern part of the state are being considered.

’This is just another example of road funding heading to the northern part of the state,’ said transportation authority member Woody Duba of Beaver Coal.

Duba, who says he is passionate about seeing road projects in southern West Virginia get its fair share of funding from the state, said the state’s 3rd Congressional District pays more than half of the state’s severance taxes, but only receives about 20 percent of the state’s highway dollars. He noted the other two congressional districts receive $2 in highway funding for each dollar paid in severance taxes.

’We contribute by paying four times more in severance taxes, but it is not applied equally back to our area,’ he said. ’That is very upsetting and very unfair.’

Walker said although the Fairmont project is located in the governor’s home county, that fact had nothing to do with giving it unused funds.

’Fairmont’s Gateway Connector project is a worthy project,’ he said. ’The fact it is the governor’s home county had no bearing on the decision.’

’ E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com