Tag: Jimmy Wriston

No Funds To Repair, Replace Closed Ohio River Bridge

On Dec. 21, the department shut down the Market Street Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River from Brooke County to Steubenville, Ohio.

State transportation officials closed a bridge in the Northern Panhandle last month, and the funds are not there to fix or replace it.

State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston told lawmakers Tuesday that none of the nearly 7,000 bridges in West Virginia would be open if they were not safe.

On Dec. 21, his department shut down the Market Street Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River from Brooke County to Steubenville, Ohio.

The closure of the bridge, built in 1905, angered local officials. But Wriston estimated the bridge would cost tens of millions of dollars to fix – funds he doesn’t have.

“If we were fortunate enough to get an earmark, one of our senators sent me a $60 million down here today and said, ‘Have at it.’ Oh, we’ll start the process today,” Wriston said Tuesday. “But I don’t have Market Street in our six-year plan. It’s not there.”

Federal funds have been made available under the 2021 infrastructure law to fix bridges.

The Division of Highways plans to inspect the 1,800-foot bridge later in the month without a live load. It said the steel strands inside the bridge’s support cables have been rapidly deteriorating.

State Transportation Project Contracts Top Out Year At $1 Billion

The number could be even bigger if lawmakers reverse a change they made in 2016, Secretary Jimmy Wriston testified.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation reports an “unheard number” of projects under contract for the year.

As the year comes to a close, Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston told lawmakers his department has a billion dollars of projects under contract. 

“That’s unheard of in Highways,” he said.

Still, Wriston told the Joint Oversight Commission on Transportation Tuesday, the number could be even bigger if lawmakers reverse a change they made in 2016.

Prior to then, Wriston said, a sales tax on road construction materials directly funded the department’s projects. But lawmakers diverted those revenues to the general fund.

“Just looking at that sales tax, you could see how much more we could be doing,” Wriston said.

Wriston estimated the revenues to be in the tens of millions.

Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, chair of the joint commission, told Wriston that restoring the sales tax revenues to the department is something “I’d personally like to see us correct there.”

Division Of Highways To Consider Alternative Route For Corridor H

The West Virginia Division of Highways will take a second look at a northern route for a 10-mile section of Corridor H from Davis to Parsons.

The current WVDOH preferred route splits the towns of Davis and Thomas and crosses the Blackwater Canyon.

Community activists say the northern route avoids those impacts. Additionally, the southern route crosses what’s believed to be the habitat of the endangered Northern Long-Eared Bat.

A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the project is due later this year. Construction is scheduled to begin next year at a projected cost of $467 million.

Corridor H is one of the biggest highway projects in the state. Most of it is complete.

In addition to the portion from Davis to Parsons, a 7-mile section from Wardensville to the Virginia state line has yet to begin construction.

Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston had said previously that the state would not consider routing the highway north of Thomas.

Work Begins On New Section Of Corridor H Between Kerens And Parsons

Contractors will move 7 million cubic yards of earth by the time the project is completed in 2025 at a cost of $49.5 million.

State officials broke ground on a new section of Corridor H in Hardy County on Friday.

Gov. Jim Justice and Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston kicked off construction on a three-mile portion of Corridor H between Kerens and Parsons.

Contractors will move seven million cubic yards of earth by the time the project is completed in 2025 at a cost of $49.5 million.

Construction on the highway has been ongoing for decades. About $2 billion has been spent on it, and another $1 billion will be required to complete the road.

Some residents and environmental groups oppose the route of the highway to the south of Thomas, where it would come close to Blackwater Falls State Park.

But Wriston has said his department is pushing forward.

About 100 miles of the 132-mile road are open to traffic.

Cass Scenic Railroad Reopens 15 Miles Of Track Along Greenbrier River

A washed out bridge closed the line for almost 40 years following a flood in 1985.

With a blast of the whistle from Shay steam locomotive No. 5, the Cass Scenic Railroad rolled once again on the line from Cass to Durbin.

A washed out bridge closed the line for almost 40 years following a flood in 1985.

Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston was on hand for the inaugural run across the new Trout Run bridge, which was built by his department.

“That’s what we do in this state,” he said. “When we have a tough job to do, we roll up our sleeves and do it. That’s what happened and that’s what this bridge represents.”

Cass can now run trains on the entire 15 miles of track along the Greenbrier River.

The Greenbrier Express will operate on Saturdays and Sundays starting this weekend and Wednesday through Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

The trains depart Cass at 10 a.m.

To book a ticket, visit mountainrailwv.com.

Feds To Contribute $548 Million To Rebuild State's Aging Bridges

Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston said the infusion of funds will allow the state to repair 2,700 bridges over 10 years.

The state will receive more than $548 million over the next five years from the Federal Highway Administration to invest in its bridges.

Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston said the infusion of funds will allow the state to repair 2,700 bridges over 10 years.

“So you’re going to start seeing a lot of bridge work in West Virginia,” Wriston said. “A lot of bridge work in West Virginia.”

Wriston said about 75 bridges owned by municipalities are eligible for 100 percent funding, where a 20 percent local match would otherwise be required. His department will work to find matching funds for another 39 bridges.

The funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of last year, which Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin voted for, along with retiring Rep. David McKinley.

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