CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday that $800 million in bonds have been sold on Wall Street this week to finance the first phase of the Roads to Prosperity projects.
“This is a huge step forward in our $2 billion-plus program that is going to absolutely transform West Virginia,”Justice said in a news release. “The benefits from this are just tremendous – all kinds of construction jobs now and then long-term economic gains from improved roads and bridges.”
The state secured a 3.575 interest rate on the bonds. With interest, the state will borrow approximately $915 million.
Retail investors purchased $167.7 million of the bonds Monday with $17 million purchased from those with state ties, Justice said.
“It is so great that so many West Virginians showed they have faith in where we’re headed by investing in these bonds,” Justice said. “This is another wonderful example of West Virginians stepping forward to turn this state around.”
The rest of the bonds were sold Wednesday to Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
State voters overwhelmingly approved taking the bonds to market in a statewide election last fall. The legislature approved an increase in the gasoline tax and DMV fees.
There will be another large bond sale in the months to come. The state Division of Highways has already started a number of projects under the Roads to Prosperity program.