CHARLESTON, W. Va. — The state Division of Highways is utilizing legislation passed in 2013, allowing funding of projects through public-private partnerships.
“It will allow us to manage our monies better and we think through that, allow us to get more projects, more road projects up and started,” Brent Walker, DOH spokesperson said.
Senate Bill 190 laid out the requirements for such an agreement. Among the measures implemented include “eliminating requirement that money from the State Road Fund only be used for public-private partnership projects where the money serves as a required match for federal funds specifically earmarked in a federal authorization or appropriation bill.”
Walker said this allows the DOH to begin projects sooner by working with contractors to reach an agreement on payments rather than having to make the entire payment up front, waiting for federal money to come in.
“In most construction projects, the bulk of that work is being done over about a four to five or six month period. When it gets cold, we’re not doing a lot of construction work and so it allows us to get on the budget plan, if you will, and allow us to level out those payments,” he said.
Payments rather than large lump sums allow the DOH to diversify their projects, and in turn provide more work for contractors.
“They’ll just take that job knowing that we’ll have a certain amount of time at making the same, level payments for that time piece,” Walker said.
A requirement established in the bill involves contractors submitting their qualifications before entering into a public-private partnership with the state. Walker said these contractors must be able and agree to absorb extra costs should work increase before the next payment from the state is made.
The DOH’s first project funded through public-private partnerships is already underway, a 3.3 mile section of the Coalfields Expressway in Raleigh and Wyoming counties. It will sever as an example of how the agreements will work.
“It’s going to a good first project for us,” Walker said. “Certainly all eyes are going to be on that project as we move forward but so far it’s gone smoothly. We think it will and it will be a preferred method [of funding] so that we can look at other projects.”
The DOH hopes to utilize public-private partnerships for the U.S. Route 35 project in Mason and Putnam counties, as well as for the Corridor H project.