CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The first set of general obligation bonds approved by voters last year will go on sale in May, as the state Department of Transportation works with the Department of Administration to get underwriters for putting the bonds on the market.
The bonds are part of the “Roads to Prosperity” amendment, which voters passed in October and will fund $1.6 billion worth of road construction projects in West Virginia.
According to Transportation Secretary Tom Smith, general obligation bonds to fund $800 million in projects are on track to be sold this year. The state sold GARVEE bonds last year worth around $260 million worth of projects, with another $110 million in similar bonds going on sale this June.
There is also turnpike bonding, worth $120 million in projects. Smith said those bonds will go on sale in June.
“For reference purposes, the Obama stimulus back in 2009 was about $228 million dollars and that went out in two years,” Tom Smith said. “Now, we’ve got this over a billion dollars that’ll be on the street in just one year.
As for related work, Smith said progress is going to depend on the project. A majority of larger projects are design-build projects, in which the state allows a contractor and consultant team to design the project, which will create a delay.
“But many of these projects are the old, traditional design-bid-build,” Smith added. “We already have plans done, and you’re going to see work like that start as soon as the weather turns in two or three weeks. You’re going to see a tremendous amount of interstate work start all over the state.”
Smith said some projects set to begin in this years includes the widening of the West Virginia Turnpike in Beckley — which is worth $80 million dollars and could begin in June — and improving West Virginia Route 10 from Mann to the Mercer County community of Kegley.