MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice delivered a piece of equipment to state Division of Highways District Six headquarters in Moundsville Wednesday afternoon.
Justice was in a tractor trailer that pulled a Gradall onto the property to an awaiting crowd.
“For those of us that know anything whatsoever about road construction and everything else, this is a do-all everything machine. A Gradall that does everything,” Justice said.
LIVE: Gov. Justice provides road maintenance update in Marshall County #WV #WVGov https://t.co/rgou1uASFy
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) July 24, 2019
The DOH has ordered 10 of the large pieces of equipment in recent months, Justice said.
“One for every (DOH) district and this is the first one to come in,” Justice told the crowd. “So I brought it to you, the first one, I’m really happy to be able to have done that.”
A Gradall is a large excavator used in road maintenance and construction projects. The state didn’t have many left after several were sold before Justice became governor. Justice said again Wednesday road maintenance has been ignored for too long in West Virginia.
Justice has been to Marshall County three times in recent months and he’s spoken about secondary road conditions each time. He was first questioned by residents during an April stop to make a grant announcement.
Justice said Wednesday the state has paved nearly 1,000 miles of secondary roads in the past four months, repaired nearly 200 slips and covered thousands of more miles with gravel and patch.
“I told you I wasn’t going to run away. I haven’t run away. I’ve done what I said I’d do and that’s what I pride myself the most in,” Justice said.
The governor’s office later announced there have been 358 miles-worth of potholes patched in Marshall County and 21 slips repaired. Both are more than any other county.