CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Representatives with the state Division of Highways and members of the Contractors Association of West Virginia are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Charleston to discuss the roll-out of millions of dollars in road and bridge construction projects.
“We’re ready to go to work today. We’re ready to put people to work today,” CAWV Executive Director Mike Clowser said.
The purpose of Tuesday’s meeting is to determine how to get the projects designed, advertised, awarded and built, Clowser said.
“We are going to hear the (DOH’s) plans for designing and advertising projects. They’re going to listen to our contractors as to how we maximize it so we maximize the number of West Virginia contractors who can bid and perform the work and how they schedule it to get our workers back to work quickly,” Clowser said. “So it’s going to be a lot of information shared between the Division of Highways, Federal Highway Administration and the construction and design industries.”
Fee and tax increases began July 1 that are expected to bring in $140 million annually for road and bridge projects. Clowser and others hope to turn those funds into $2.8 billion if state residents approve a road bond amendment scheduled for a statewide vote Oct. 7. But Tuesday’s meeting is apart getting projects done this construction season, Clowser said.
“We have asphalt plants because of the lack of work that haven’t even opened this season. We have construction workers that are working in Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland and every other state that we are going to bring home,” Clowser said.
There’s a lot of optimism among contractors, according to Clowser.
“The people of West Virginia should be starting to see their roads repaved, their bridges fixed, starting next week,” Clowser said.