CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Monday marked the two-year anniversary of Roads To Prosperity bond program passage and according to state Deputy Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston a lot has been done but there’s plenty more to do.
Wriston appeared on Monday’s MetroNews ‘Talkline’ to update the road projects completed to date since the passage, currently being worked on and the scheduled work that hasn’t begun.
“We’re not going to be satisfied until we do get on top of this,” Wriston said.
“We’ve got a lot, we’ve done a lot. We’re going to keep our foot on the floor, we’re going to keep moving and get this done. We’re dedicated, we’re focused, we’re going to keep working until we get it to where it needs to be.”
Jimmy Wriston, Deputy Transportation Secretary at @WVDOT, gives @HoppyKercheval an update on road construction in West Virginia and future plans. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIAoe1 pic.twitter.com/Wivsz5V1nf
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) October 7, 2019
According to the state’s numbers, since the bond passage there has been 541 road projects completed across all 55 West Virginia counties. This includes paving, slip and slide repairs, bridge repairs, and other road improvements totaling more than $385 million worth of work, traveling 1,185 miles of road.
Additional work scheduled to be completed by December 31 of this year includes 293 projects that stretch 382 miles and cost nearly $303 million, according to a release by Gov. Jim Justice’s office. More numbers from the department said additional work scheduled to begin by December 31 of this year includes 123 projects consisting of 137 miles of road and costing nearly $500 million.
Wriston said the annual work is in progress too. There have been over 18,000 miles of the secondary road system in the state that has been worked on according to him.
“What’s truly unbelievable is that this is only the beginning,” Gov. Justice said in a released statement. “We are going to invest more and more in all of our roads every day.
“We’re going to keep providing more access through West Virginia and we’re going to keep providing jobs to get the work done. Everybody wins. And I’m excited to see what we can accomplish in the next two years as Roads To Prosperity continues unlocking doors in our state.”