CHARLESTON — West Virginia’s lone toll road needs about $100 million in repairs but motorists who travel the 88-mile highway say it is in good shape and money for upgrades shouldn’t come at their expense, according to a survey.
The state Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority surveyed about 620 residents and highway users in December and January about their views on the highway. The authority also held three focus group meetings.
“We found that they actually perceived it to be in a little better condition than we actually know it to be from an engineering perspective,” said Greg Barr, the authority’s general manager.
The results showed 68 percent of those interviewed by telephone and 78 percent questioned at travel plazas gave the turnpike a “good” or “excellent” rating.
That’s despite increased complaints from truckers and others that the Charleston-to-Princeton highway is a “bumpy ride,” Barr said.
The $100 million in needed upgrades was highlighted in a February report by the Public Resources Advisory Group. The firm was hired by Gov. Joe Manchin to review authority operations.
Barr said the worst stretch of highway is in the Beckley area. A project to upgrade the stretch has been on hold for four years.
“We do one paving project a year of about 4 miles and that’s all we can afford,” he said. “There are about 415 lanes miles of turnpike. It’s getting pretty tight.”
Funding highway operations has been a topic of interest since a Kanawha County circuit judge ordered the authority to roll back toll increases. The authority increased tolls from $1.25 to $2 for passenger cars and from $4.25 to $7 for five-axle commercial trucks.
Authority members said the increase was needed because tolls had not been raised since 1981. But Kanawha County Circuit Judge Irene Berger froze the increase saying the authority’s December 20 meeting notice did not clearly state that action to increase the tolls would be taken.
This year the Legislature passed legislation giving it the final say on any increases, but Manchin vetoed the bill. The governor has called for the authority to concentrate on the toll road and divest itself of the Tamarack arts and craft center in Beckley and other assets.
The authority is expected to discuss a proposal on Thursday to sell an office building in Charleston. The Charleston Area Alliance has proposed giving the authority $2.3 million for the building.
Barr said money from the sale could be devoted toward reducing the $8.4 million bond debt on Tamarack.