BRADENTON, Fla. — A long-awaited report recommending West Virginia issue $1.5 billion in bonds to fund transportation projects will be released in September.
The final report of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways, two years in the making, will be available for legislators to consider during interim meetings next month, according to the West Virginia Gazette.
"We want to get the report in the hands of the policy makers so they can decide between now and January what parts of the report they want to address," said commission chairman Jason Pizatella, who is also Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's deputy chief of staff.
Tomblin empaneled the commission to address stagnant transportation revenue collections and burgeoning capital needs.
A series of recommendations was released in the fall of last year, through the final report has not be released.
The recommendations included including increasing tolls on 88-mile West Virginia Turnpike to finance new projects, maintaining current transponder rates and discount schedules, and setting aside $250 million in the bond proceeds for projects in Mercer, Raleigh, Fayette, and Kanawha counties where the turnpike is located.
In addition to the toll bonds, the commission also recommended increasing various motor vehicle fees, placing new fees on alternative-fuel vehicles and gas/electric hybrids, and dedicating sales tax revenues collected on auto parts and services to the state road fund.
The West Virginia Division of Highways maintains 92% of roads in the state, about 36,000 miles.
The DOH has $11.1 billion of pent-up demand for highway needs over the next 25 years, and another $2.4 billion for more than 6,000 of state-owned bridges, according to an assessment done for the commission by CDM Smith.
The amounts mentioned in the CDM study were for the existing highway system, and did not include funds for expansion.
