CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways will visit seven locations across the state, seeking public input on the direction transportation in the state should take in the coming years.
The days of U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd bringing home large appropriations of federal money are over. The higher price for gasoline caused more and more fuel-efficient vehicles and lowered the overall revenue from gasoline taxes. Tomblin and the state must now find new ways of generating road construction and maintenance dollars. Projections put the highway construction and maintenance costs in West Virginia into the billions.
“We know there’s a lot more expertise about these issues other than in Charleston,” said Blue Ribbon Commission Chairman Jason Pizatella. “We’ve decided to go around the state so we can explain the numbers, explain the condition of the roads, and we can get people’s input.”
The exact locations of the meetings are expected to be announced during the next few days.
Pizatella said the panel not only wants to explain the ideas currently being considered, but also to find new ideas from the people. The commission wants to give all stakeholders in the state’s roads an opportunity to comment and consider the proposals already being considered.
“It’s our goal to get as much participation as possible,” he said. “There are a lot more and better ideas than just the ones form the 25 commissioners sitting around the table. We want to hear from the ones who drive the roads every day.”
Pizatella added the public meetings will not be completely about revenue generation. He said the conversation will also focus on how to do things more efficiently.
“The goal is not to simply put it on the backs of driver,” he said. “But also to look at ways for the DOH to be more efficient and to look at ways to use innovative financing methods we haven’t used before and to find those efficiencies throughout the road system.”
The commission’s final report will be given to Gov. Tomblin by Aug. 1. There has been talk of a special session to deal with some of the issues, but Pizatella said that discussion is premature.