| By Bob Weaver
The West Virginia Division of Highways has announced they are shifting from any road building functions they have maintained to what they describe as core maintenance.
Declining revenues and soaring costs for construction materials appears to endorse a WVDOH business plan where county workers will perform fewer functions related to actual road improvements.
The agency has denied they are continuing to privatize those functions, a question that arose when they began selling off equipment used in road improvements.
The agency says they have no plan to down-size the workforce, although they say they are having problems with replacing workers and professional employees.
Still, they have been considering privatizing some highway projects, making them toll roads.
The department, which at various times has produced its' own low-cost resurfacing materials, is now saying it is cheaper to outsource repaving jobs to private contractors.
"We're transforming the Division of Highways into more of a maintenance organization to maintain our bridges and highways," said department head Paul Mattox.
The main source of funding for DOH, the State Road Fund, is projected to slowly but steadily decline as high gas prices reduce tax revenues.
"We're projecting state Road Fund revenues will remain flat," Mattox said.
The Charleston Gazette reported, "Projections are that the Road Fund will decline from $660 million in the current budget year to $648 million in fiscal 2012-13, as drivers cut back on travel and gradually switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles."
Federal road funds are also declining.
Federal funds are projected to decline by about $25 million in the current budget year, to $325 million - and that decline could be much more severe if Congress and the president don't approve a $3.2 billion bailout to offset deficits in federal highway fund collections.
Mattox said "Even if Congress passes a bailout bill, President Bush has indicated he will veto it."
Appalachian Regional Commission funding for construction of the Appalachian corridor highways is projected to drop from $85 million to $32 million.
The long proposed Little Kanawha Parkway, a project whose vision would finally open Calhoun, Gilmer, Braxton and Wirt to the outside world with a "modern highway," is still no more than a pipe dream after the idea surfaced in Calhoun in the late 1960's and early 70's.
Mattox said costs for road-building materials have jumped 71 percent since December 2003.
The price of asphalt is up 82 percent linked to high-priced oil, while the price of structural steel has jumped 134.7 percent, most of which is globalized steel made abroad.
The Herald was unable to obtain a list of road improvements for Calhoun County from officials in Parkersburg and Charleston.
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