MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A member of the Morgantown area Chamber of Commerce is attempting to debunk some popular criticisms of the Roads to Prosperity Constitutional Amendment.
“The Roads to Prosperity program is a huge program,” Chamber of Commerce Vice President for Governmental Affairs Eldon Callen said Monday on Morgantown AM. “This bonding is just a portion of it. I estimate maybe one-third.”
The $3.3 billion dollar program, if funding is approved during the October 7 referendum, is expected to use a number of different funding mechanisms, including Garvee bonds. Callen said the program also aims to reduce the life cycle of pothole repair.
“If you vote no on this bond and you’ve got a pothole, and you don’t live on a major artery such as University Avenue or Beechurst, I pretty much guarantee — because the maintenance cycle is now seven years — that pothole isn’t going to be filled for a number of years,” he said.
He said the program is particularly helpful for voters who do not live on or near the major traffic arteries.
“This whole program will take care of those potholes,” he said. “You vote against this plan, your potholes aren’t going to be fix because they want to get the maintenance back to three years rather than seven years.”
While he recognizes the cost of the program, Callen said that this is simply about voters authorizing the ability borrow a certain amount of money at varying points — not about borrowing money all in one lump sum.
“The $3.3 billion is the whole overall program,” he said. “They’re not going to go out the day after the election and borrow $1.6 billion dollars.”
Early voting wraps up October 4.