THE PROPOSED WV ROADS BOND SPECIAL ELECTION

       On October the 7th, the citizens of WV will be voting on whether or not to approve a roads bond worth 1.6 billion dollars. I'm sure, you, like me, have many questions.

     1. HOW BAD ARE WV's ROADS/BRIDGES?  Pretty bad. According to "the US department of Transportation" through Ballotpedia (see link below) 47% of WVs roads are mediocre to poor condition and 35% of bridges are deficient or obsolete. I remember the 2007 collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis killed several people and wounded others. See the New York Times link below. Repairing roads and bridges is a safety issue, and certainly worth doing.

     2. HOW WILL THIS BOND BE PAID OFF? State tax increases that have already been implemented. The increased gas tax, the increased DMV charges, vehicle purchase taxes, etc. are already in place. All providing 130 million dollars a year. See the WV Metro news address below for more.

    3. WHY NOT FIX WHAT WE CAN PAY FOR EACH YEAR INSTEAD OF THE BOND? The safety issue is there, across the state. What if WV were to fix a bridge in Boone county with the yearly money, but that year a bridge in Greenbrier county, that needed fixed, wasnt and collapses? The state of our roads and bridges is a safety concern that needs to be addressed now.

    4. ISNT THERE A BETTER AREA TO SPEND WV'S MONEY? Maybe, but, again, safety is key. Also, that issue has already been decided. WV's Governor looked at this situation and decided it is vital. I say we trust the man. The decision before us now is the roads bond.

     5. ISNT THIS A VERY TEMPORARY FIX TO OUR ECONOMY? AFTER 2021, THE PROGRAM WILL END. Thats true, the road/bridge building jobs will end at that time. However, it will also work on Corridor H (connects Central WV to I-81) and US 35 (connects Charleston to Ohio). See the WV metro news address below for more. With these new roads, the possibilities of new economic growth in our state is there. So, the economic benefits to this program may be more than temporary.

     6. WHEN IS THE VOTE? Early voting starts September 28th and ends October 7th. I hope you agree that this is a necessary project, and VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE ROADS BOND.



https://ballotpedia.org/West_Virginia_Bonds_for_Roads_and_Bridges_Amendment_(October_2017)

https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/grow-america/road-and-bridge-data-state

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/us/02bridge.html

http://wvmetronews.com/2017/06/27/justice-schedules-road-bond-election-signs-parksway-bill-into-law/

http://wvmetronews.com/2017/06/20/more-road-maintenance-begins-immediately-big-goals-await-bond-vote/

http://www.wvcorridorh.com/

http://www.transportation.wv.gov/highways/Highways-Projects/US_35/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.transportation.wv.gov/highways/Highways-Projects/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.governor.wv.gov/News/press-releases/2017/Pages/Justice-Sets-Road-Bond-Referendum-For-October-7.aspx

http://www.sos.wv.gov/News-Center/Pages/Secretary-Warner-Issues-Legal-Notice-for-October-7th-Special-Election-called-by-Governor.aspx