CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The dire condition of many West Virginia roads is a common complaint among residents of the Mountain State, but some additional progress should be made this summer.
Despite a struggling state budget, State Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox expects to get at least as many road repairs done this summer as last season.
“We’re going to see a similar amount of summer paving as we did last year,” Mattox said. “Last year was a record year for us. Of course, we’re diverting funds from other projects into our paving program, trying to take advantage of lower asphalt prices this year, and also because our roads are in need of additional attention.
Mattox said they would try to distribute work among interstates, state and county road systems and try to make the most of their funding.
“We’re going to evaluate the older concrete roads in parts of the state highway system, our APDA Expressway system” Mattox said. ” And see what the probability is of restoring those concrete surfaces, and maybe get away from the practice we’ve developed the past few years of asphalting over concrete pavement.”
With several accidents in construction zones last season, Mattox implored motorists to exercise caution during the coming road repairs.
“We did (see accidents last year). We can’t emphasize enough: when you see a construction zone, slow down and pay attention.”