CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Seven of the 10 projects originally targeted in the first series of general obligation bonds in the Roads to Prosperity program are under contract.
According to information passed out to a group of state lawmakers this week by state Transportation Secretary Byrd White, seven contracts for $447.8 million have been signed. Most of the projects are in the early stages, only $32.6 million has been paid out on the work thus far.
The seven projects include: Morgantown Mileground widening ($8.7 million); I-79 Weston exit reconfiguration ($24.1 million); Coalfields Expressway-Mullens to Slab Fork-concrete paving ($33.2 million); Berkeley County Interstate 81 widening-Tabler Station to Apple Harvest Drive ($49.5 million); U.S. Route 35 paving-Putnam and Mason counties ($50.9 million); Turnpike widening project-Beckley ($105.6 million); Corridor H extension-U.S. Route 219 to state Route 72 ($175.7 million).
MORE see project list here
Contracts are in place but work hasn’t yet started on two of the projects, Corridor H and U.S. Route 35.
White told lawmakers two of the original 10 projects, the I-64 bridge expansion at Nitro and the I-70 bridge work in Wheeling, will be bid out in August and October. The Wheeling project is expected to cost around $210 million with the bidding set for next month. White said the I-64 bridge expansion at Nitro is a projected $170 million project that will also need some federal funds. It’s scheduled for bidding in October.
The first series of bonds sold last summer totaled $800 million. White said because of projected costs they knew they would have to move at least one of the original 10 projects to another funding program. The I-64 widening in Cabell County at Merritts Creek has been moved, he said.
“We federalized that. It was $71 million so we moved it out of the bond and into a federal project,” White said.
State lawmakers approved resolutions in this week’s special session that will allow for two more rounds of bonds to be taken to Wall Street. White said $600 million will be issued in October which should finance another nine large projects. He said the projected cost of those projects is $666 million.
“Realizing the bonds are only $600 million we hope for a premium (bond sales) or we’ll put some federal aid to do those projects,” White said.
White also released a list to lawmakers this week of projects being financed by Garvee bonds. There are 31 Garvee 01 projects with a total price tag of $240.5 million and many of them have been completed. There’s been $211 million spent thus far. There are 36 projects getting funding through Garvee bond 02 for a total of $82.3 million with $35.2 million paid to date.
The first round of Turnpike bonds are currently funding five projects in southern West Virginia to the tune of $126.4 million including work on state Route 10, Airport Road in Mercer County, the Powell Creek Bridge in Madison and the Ken Shadrick Bridge in Wyoming County.