Congress passes transportation bill including millions for West Virginia road projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., who serves as the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced the Congress has cleared and sent to President Obama for his signature the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill. As part of the funding measure Byrd secured millions of dollars in funding for road projects throughout West Virginia as part of his on-going efforts to provide a safer, more efficient transportation network throughout the Mountain State. 

Funding Byrd included in the transportation appropriations measure for road projects and transportation research programs throughout West Virginia are as follows:

• Corridor H: $4.383 million for the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) for the continued construction of Corridor H, the only unfinished corridor highway in West Virginia, as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). The $4.383 million Byrd added to the bill would be used primarily for work on the roadway between Bismarck and Forman. The State of West Virginia also receives annual ADHS formula funding as a result of Byrd’s efforts in past transportation authorization measures;

• West Virginia Route 10: $1.948 million for the WVDOH to continue construction and improvements to Route 10 in Logan County;

• Coalfields Expressway: $1.948 million for the WVDOH for the continued construction of the Coalfields Expressway, a proposed 112-mile four-lane, limited-access, highway that will run from I-64-77 in Beckley to U.S. 23 in Pound, Virginia. This funding would be used for work associated with the Allen Creek to Slab Fork area;

• King Coal Highway: $1.948 million for the WVDOH for the continued construction of the King Coal Highway, the 104-mile segment of U.S. 52 that extends from the Robert C. Byrd Freeway near Williamson to Interstate 77 near Bluefield. Funding will be used for construction of an interchange to WV 460 in Mercer County;

• U.S. Route 35: $1.948 million for the WVDOH for continued construction of the West Virginia portion of U.S. Route 35, which runs from the Ohio River east through Mason, Putnam, and Kanawha Counties and connects with Interstate 64 in Charleston. The roadway serves as a vital commercial thoroughfare, with trucks using the road as part of their route through Charleston and onto Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio, and beyond;

• Wetzel Street Bridge: $487,000 for the WVDOH to replace the current Wetzel Street Bridge in the Town of Hundred which has been closed to traffic;

• Monongalia General Hospital Access Road: $974,000 for the construction of an access road that will provide emergency vehicles, patients, visitors and staff direct access to Monongalia General Hospital in Monongalia County;

• Hardy County Complex Access Road: $1.461 million for the Hardy County Rural Development Authority in Moorefield to construct an access road to West Virginia Eastern Community and Technical College and points beyond; and

• West Virginia University (WVU) Construction Facilities Center: $243,500 for WVU to continue development of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites for various transportation initiatives. FRP is non-corrosive, two times stronger and four times lighter than steel with at least twice the service life.