CHARLESTON — Less than 24 hours after Gov. Jim Justice received a somewhat hastily compiled list of secondary roads most in need of repair, the governor named former Raleigh County Commissioner Byrd White as the state’s next Department of Transportation secretary.
“It is my number one priority to get all our roads across the state in top shape as quickly as is reasonable and feasible to do,” said Justice. “Byrd completely understands my directive and I am confident that he will carry this out professionally and efficiently.”
White, who is a certified public accountant, previously served as Executive Vice-President of the Vecellio Group, one of the the largest roadway construction companies in the United States. Speaking to MetroNews Monday, White answered critics who say his background in finance may not be suitable for leading an engineering-oriented department.
“The Secretary of Transportation oversees a budget of $1.3 billion. I don’t see anything terribly wrong with being a finance guy, if you’ve got that kind of responsibility,” he said.
White resigned from the Raleigh County Commission on March 22, following the termination of then-Secretary of Transportation Tom Smith and the expected appointment of White by the governor to the department. White told MetroNews Monday the logistics of addressing secondary road repairs are daunting, but not insurmountable.
“There’s almost 15,000 tasks that (Division of Highways engineers and supervisors) have sent in, and we haven’t put any dollar costs with the these tasks, yet. Obviously, we have a finite amount of money but we’re going to put every dime that we can into maintainence,” said White. “I hope that people understand that we’ve got a bunch of great employees, and their working as hard as they can but we’ve got 36,000 miles of state-maintained roads in West Virginia. It’s a huge undertaking.”
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper, who has been personally and professionally acquainted with White for several years, told MetroNews White’s experience, both in public office and in the private business sector, makes him well-suited for directing a state-level department.
“He’s a practical person that’s run county government. He is used to dealing with people and listening to people and reacting to problems in real time. He’s just really the right person, I believe.” he said.
White’s appointment is effective immediately.
By Pete Davis
