CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox wants state voters to consider authorizing a $1 billion to $1.5 billion road bond that could finish 17 different projects statewide, including a new, toll-free U.S. 35.
During a joint legislative public hearing on infrastructure Thursday, Mattox asked lawmakers to consider putting the bond issue on the ballot this election year.
He apparently made the proposal independently of the governor. The Associated Press later Thursday reported that a spokeswoman for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said the governor had no plans to propose a road bond issue.
Mattox was appointed to his post by former Gov. Joe Manchin but has been kept on by Tomblin.
Congress has been locked in bitter partisan gridlock over cutting the federal budget and unable to produce a long-term transportation funding bill in recent years. As a result, states have been facing increasing difficulty in committing to long-term infrastructure projects.
Mattox said a 30-year state transportation bond could help jump-start 17 major highway projects, the plans for which have been collecting dust on highway engineers' shelves.
"If the voters of West Virginia would approve a $1 billion road bond amendment, we have identified 17 projects throughout the state of West Virginia that we would move forward and have under construction in the next four years," Mattox said.
That would include construction of the final 14.6-mile section of U.S. 35 in Mason and Putnam counties. But unlike the construction plan for the road that died in the Legislature last year, including the project in a $1 billion bond issue would eliminate the need for tolls.
Other projects would include: a segment of Corridor H in the north central part of the state; a new bridge over the Ohio River at Wellsburg; a bypass road around Berkeley Springs in Morgan County; completion of the Coalfields Expressway to Mullins; a segment of the Beckley Z-Way project; completion of the New River Parkway in Summers and Raleigh counties; construction of a small segment of the King Coal Highway in Mercer County around Bluefield; and construction of a small segment of the Tolsia Highway in Wayne County.
"If the voters would give us $1.5 billion, then we could say over the next eight years we could complete Corridor H in West Virginia with that funding," he said.
Mattox said officials estimate it would take $65 million to $75 million in state revenues each year to pay off the proposed $1 billion bond over 30 years. Those numbers would increase if voters opted for the $1.5 billion that would allow for completion of Corridor H.
Lawmakers passed a bill last year that would have raised $40 million annually by increasing fees charged motorists by the Division of Motor Vehicles. However, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed that plan.
Mattox indicated the governor might be more open to the idea this year.
"One of reasons the DMV fee was vetoed by Gov. Tomblin was because there was no systematic plan in place for how it would be spent," Mattox said.
He said officials have been working with the governor over the past year to develop a plan.
But even if that were approved, the state would remain $25 to $35 million short for each of the 30 years it would take to pay off a $1 billion bond debt.
Lawmakers admit the No. 1 issue they hear from constituents is the need to improve West Virginia's roads, but they also say the biggest stumbling block is finding the necessary funds.
Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bob Beach, D-Monongalia, said road bond proposals have been a tough sell in recent years.
"We had one in Monongalia County a few years ago and it failed miserably," Beach said, "and I think that was just a lack of education.
"If we can get out there on the front end of it, educate the populace as to, 'These are the projects we're looking at, and this is the potential for having better roads for the future of West Virginia,' we'll be better off if we do that," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall, R-Putnam, who lives along the current U.S. 35 in Putnam County, said, "I like the enthusiasm, but we need some real political muscle here to be able to say to the people of West Virginia we need to own the problem. We can't skirt the reality; we have to make some tough decisions."
More than 100 transportation and construction workers and employers, along with labor leaders, were at the state Capitol all day Thursday and attended the hearing. They were there to lobby for more support of infrastructure funding, which they said was key to the state's economy.
"There's some 5,000 laid off (construction workers) right now, and they're ready to work," said state AFL-CIO President Kenny Perdue.
"They're drug-free and ready to go to work everyday. They want to be out there, not at home. They want to put food on the table; they're ready to work."
Jan Vineyard spoke on behalf of the West Virginia Truckers Association and West Virginia Business and Industry Council, which represents about 60 companies and organizations.
"The importance of good roads cannot be minimized for the commercial and industrial development for West Virginia," Vineyard said.
She said the state has made good strides in reducing taxes over the past few years and has seen its economy grow faster than most other states. She said the state has incredible potential in developing business, particularly in the oil and gas sector, and called infrastructure the last piece of the puzzle.
"Unless we have the infrastructure and the highways, we cannot keep that up and fulfill that potential," she said. "Good roads are a must."
Contact writer Jared Hunt at jared.h...@dailymail.com or 304-348-5148.