CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The 7th annual West Virginians for Better Transportation Rally held Friday at the state capitol was much different than the previous six because of what happened last October in the Mountain State.
Residents approved a $2.8 billion road bond amendment in a statewide vote. Contractors Association of West Virginia President Mike Clowser said that brings certainty.
“Today we are going to build roads. Today we are going to hire people to build roads. Today we are going to create economic development,” Clowser said.
WVBT is a coalition of more than 300 organizations across the state. Those at Friday’s rally heard from state Transportation Secretary Tom Smith concerning the timeline of selling the first round of bonds for the projects. There’s a lot of work to be done, Clowser said.
“We’re going to not only fix our roads but we’re going to build new roads,” Clowser said. “That’s going to create economic development statewide and that’s going to create thousands of jobs statewide.”
During Friday’s rally, Clowser praised Gov. Jim Justice’s work to get the road bond approved including his many appearances statewide in the weeks leading up to last October’s election.