Legislators, DOH Attempting to Tackle Road Conditions in North Central West Virginia

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Drivers and legislators alike in North Central West Virginia are calling for solutions to the state’s road issues.

DOH District 4 Engineer Ray Urse and Delegate Terry Waxman (R-Harrison 48) appeared on the AJR News Network’s “The Mike Queen Show” to discuss the state of the roads, and possible solutions.

Urse said just in District Four alone, the problems are many and varying.

“We have a pretty diverse area there from a standpoint of varying weather conditions and about 4200 road miles to contend with,” he said.

District Four includes the countires of Taylor, Harrison, Doddridge, Preston, Monongalia, and Marion.

He also shed light on some of the financial difficulties that will face the state in the future as they deal with the roads issue.

“If our State forces were to go out and pave a mile of road that was 15 feet wide and put down one and a half inches of asphalt, it would cost us about $60,000 to fix that mile of road.”

And in some cases, it could cost closer to $90,000. One of the solutions that’s been discussed already also comes from a Harrison County delegate–Democrat Patsy Trecost. His proposal would increase the salex tax by one percent for five years and authorize the use of that increased revenue solely for the purpose of rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure in West Virginia.

“I’m not opposed to raising taxes,” said Waxman. “I do want to see where we’re at with the resources that we currently have before we start looking at that, but as far as raising the sales tax that’s a good way–if you have to increase taxes–to do it.”

But Waxman also said that one of the key’s is simple: the West Virginia economy must grow.

“The answer is to grow our economy and put the value in people,” she said. “People is where you get all the good things.”

The infrastructure debate always leads to good chicken-and-egg argument. Economists will almost universally tell you that investing in infrastructure will help bolster an economy by attracting new businesses and increasing efficiency, but is raising taxes the answer to pay for that investment?

Urse cites another issue that is particularly problematic in District 4. Competition with the oil and gas industry for workers with similar skillsets. In some cases, the DOH has had to borrow workers from other agencies to complete projects, which is not a permanent solution.

“Anytime you take forces from one place and plug them into another, it is to the detriment of the place that you took them from,” he said.

There is a new apprenticeship program though that could help the DOH do a better job competing with the pay offered by the oil and gas industry.

“We haven’t had any significant pay increases for quite some time, and I like the approach of this program in particular because it addresses our greatest needs right,” Urse said. “That is truck drivers and equipment operators.”