The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

February 4, 2010

Faster repairs to turnpike facilitated by 54 percent revenue boost after toll hike

By Mannix Porterfield

CHARLESTON — So much more cash is flowing into the toll booths since the fares went up last summer that the pothole-pocked West Virginia Turnpike is accelerating repairs.

Higher tolls went into effect last Aug. 1, after a series of tumultuous public hearings, marking the first time they had been raised since 1981.

At the time, the governing board, the West Virginia Parkways Authority, projected a revenue boost of 35 percent.

In reality, the tolls in December amounted to $6,381,518, contrasted with $4,142,916 in the previous December — an increase of 54 percent.

Passenger cars for the last month of the year fell by 5.7 percent, but truck traffic rose 10 percent over 2008.

With the extra money generated by tolls, manager Greg Barr said the turnpike is embarking on a mill and inlay program spread across the entire highway, dealing with an outbreak of potholes.

This means a $7.5 million mill and inlay project covering the more critical areas of the highway, he said.

Even with the higher revenues, Barr said, there would be no acceleration in the paving in the Beckley area.

“The paving in Beckley will progress on a normal schedule as we planned,” he said.

Barr said traffic engineers typically use a conservative approach in estimating revenues, “and rightly they should.”

Whether the turnpike should use concrete or asphalt became an issue at Thursday’s board meeting, and it was decided to call on the expertise of Bob Long, a spokesman for a concrete association, to discuss the advantages of his product.

Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox advised the board that concrete offers a much longer life cycle than asphalt.

The board agreed to construct a new salt storage building in Princeton for $350,000 and to pay HNTB Corp. some $23,000 a month for five to six months for the inspection of a bridge at Bluefield.

Bond counsel Roger Hunter told the board the investment management plan has been revised and downscaled to about 15 pages, compared to the old one of more than 100 pages, its new look in line with a more conservative approach after the market meltdown of more than a year ago.

“Although they were very conservative to begin with, they would be a notch more conservative,” he said.

The board also approved the purchase of two Ford Crown Victorias from Stephens Auto of Danville at $44,902 and five Chevrolet Impalas from Hurricane Chevrolet for $99,395, all to be used by State Police.

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