Lew McDaniel, Morgantown
I don’t know what the magic, apparently secret West Virginia highway dollar allocation formula look like.
I only know the drumbeat sounding loud and clear for at least the last decade indicates they are not adequate for much of the state’s population. And with the average state citizen driving 10,643 miles according to insurance statistics, those folks should be good indicators of what is or isn’t working.
Having watched the state of West Virginia’s highways for more than half a century, I have noted one consistent factor. If highway construction or repair money is available, it will first be spent in the Charleston, Huntington or Beckley areas. For the most part, the farther from these areas a roadway is, the worse its conditions are.
Before interstate highways, it seems to me that was particularly true. When those highways were built, they linked those areas first before others were built.
After that, maintenance attention focused on the major highways, while other roads crumbled due to inadequate initial construction standards, changes in weight limit allowances and overall traffic burden or both.
Returning road maintenance control to counties from the current district groupings responsible for large areas (under the state Division of Highways’ umbrella) is one proposed solution. However, the road money pie is only so big for the state. Slicing it differently seems unlikely to improve the situation.
Plus, that method would continue the current problem of large wealthy counties having more funds available while others do not.
So what is the answer? Continuing with outdated inadequate past methods that landed us on these crumbling roads surely isn’t the solution. More revenue, a more effective formula, and more up to date management seem steps in a better direction.
And make needed changes quickly rather than dragging them on for years. Otherwise, the dodge the potholes exercise we all undertake daily will become more burdensome than it already is.
