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Transportation
Building the Foundation for the Future
In 1947, when I began my public service in the West Virginia House of Delegates, there were only four miles of divided, four-lane highway in West Virginia. Needless to say, travel in West Virginia at that time was slow and extremely dangerous. Commerce stalled and lives were lost because our road and highway system was, as the Saturday Evening Post noted in February of 1960, "decades behind that of its neighbors."
I have always believed that a modern, efficient highway system is one of West Virginia's most pressing needs. And we have come a long way since 1947. But there is still much work to do.
One of my top priorities has been the completion of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) throughout our great State. West Virginia has six corridors -- D, E, G, H, L, and Q -- on its portion of the thirteen-state ADHS. With my support, five of these corridors are now completely finished -- providing access, promoting safety, and stimulating job creation. The only unfinished corridor highway in West Virginia is Corridor H -- planned to stretch from I-79 at Weston through the Potomac Highlands to the Virginia state line.
The hundreds of millions of federal dollars that I have secured for West Virginia highways, ADHS corridors, and other road projects, bring real benefits to the state - - improved safety, new jobs, and economic growth for communities in need of modern highways. The Appalachian Regional Commission’s June 2008 report, “Economic Impact Study of Completing the Appalachian Development Highway System,” confirms my strong belief that highways do make a positive difference in the economic well being of the counties they traverse, returning $3 in economic benefits to the nation for every $1 spent to complete the system.
While I have consistently fought for funding for roads and bridges in our state, I have also pushed for funding for mass transit, airports, river navigation systems, as well as funding for Amtrak, to ensure that West Virginia has an integrated and comprehensive transportation network.
In 1947, when I began my public service in the West Virginia House of Delegates, there were only four miles of divided, four-lane highway in West Virginia. Needless to say, travel in West Virginia at that time was slow and extremely dangerous. Commerce stalled and lives were lost because our road and highway system was, as the Saturday Evening Post noted in February of 1960, "decades behind that of its neighbors."
I have always believed that a modern, efficient highway system is one of West Virginia's most pressing needs. And we have come a long way since 1947. But there is still much work to do.
One of my top priorities has been the completion of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) throughout our great State. West Virginia has six corridors -- D, E, G, H, L, and Q -- on its portion of the thirteen-state ADHS. With my support, five of these corridors are now completely finished -- providing access, promoting safety, and stimulating job creation. The only unfinished corridor highway in West Virginia is Corridor H -- planned to stretch from I-79 at Weston through the Potomac Highlands to the Virginia state line.
The hundreds of millions of federal dollars that I have secured for West Virginia highways, ADHS corridors, and other road projects, bring real benefits to the state - - improved safety, new jobs, and economic growth for communities in need of modern highways. The Appalachian Regional Commission’s June 2008 report, “Economic Impact Study of Completing the Appalachian Development Highway System,” confirms my strong belief that highways do make a positive difference in the economic well being of the counties they traverse, returning $3 in economic benefits to the nation for every $1 spent to complete the system.
While I have consistently fought for funding for roads and bridges in our state, I have also pushed for funding for mass transit, airports, river navigation systems, as well as funding for Amtrak, to ensure that West Virginia has an integrated and comprehensive transportation network.
