MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — What was supposed to be a ceremony recognizing federal grant funding turned into Gov. Jim Justice answering questions about the poor secondary road conditions in Marshall County.
Justice on Monday took part in a presentation regarding $1 million dedicated for multiple local broadband and wastewater improvement projects, yet also promised concerned residents his administration is dedicated to improving road safety.
“Just give me this summer,” the governor said. “Just give me the time that I am now dialed completely into the secondary roads situation.”
The Marshall County Commission declared a state of emergency earlier this month in hopes of getting the state’s attention on the problem. Delegate Joe Canestraro, D-Marshall, invited Justice to look at the roads, an invitation the governor did not take up.
“It really helps me being here,” Justice said Monday. “I see that the program maybe we have in place isn’t going to be adequate from what you’re saying, and I see there is a mega-emergency here. I thought I knew that, but I can see it in your faces and in the tone of your voices that it’s worse than what I thought.”
Justice said the roads have degraded over time, yet pointed to the development and growth of natural gas as a current negative force.
“You’ve got gas, gas, gas, and trucks, trucks, trucks,” the governor added. “You’re going to have holes, holes, holes.”
During his first legislative session as governor, Justice backed a tiered tax structure affecting coal and natural gas industries in which taxes would fluctuate with the related prices. The state Legislature rejected the proposal. Justice said Monday lawmakers should revisit the idea to cover repair costs.
“There’s lots of times in Charleston that they don’t understand the magnitude of the truck traffic. For God’s sakes living, the people in Charleston in a lot of ways don’t even know you exist,” he said. “They’re never out in the boondocks. Well, I’m out in the boondocks somewhere every day because I just drive and drive and drive and drive and drive.”
Justice did not criticize gas companies for their work but noted the industry needs to be responsible for their impact.
“They’ve got to know that they can’t expect you to put your children at risk and all the different things that are happening because the roads are torn all to pieces,” he said. “They are going to continue to be torn up. You can’t have enough rock or asphalt to keep them together if you have that magnitude of traffic on them.”
The governor additionally promised to return to Marshall County every 45 days to evaluate road repair and construction work.
State Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline” said state officials are finalizing an $82.5 million plan for repairing secondary roads.