The recommendations would keep
tolls in place on the West Virginia Turnpike, the 88-mile long highway in
southern West Virginia , to generate as much as
$1 billion to pay for future construction and maintenance work on the Turnpike
along with roads across the Mountain
State
It will soon be up to Governor Tomblin to determine what to do
with a recommendation to continue tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike to pay
for future road needs.
Jan Vineyard, president of the West
Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association and a Commission member,
defended the proposal after traveling the state for public meetings in nine
cities.
“I think that’s our only option and
it looks to be like one that most people feel like is okay,” she
said. “Even in that area (the Turnpike counties), I think most people
feel like that it’s okay because we’ve got to continue to have good, safe,
efficient highways in West Virginia.”
The current bonds for the Turnpike,
which runs through Mercer, Raleigh, Fayette and Kanawha counties, are scheduled
to be paid off in 2019.
Vineyard said she supports the
continuation of the tolls beyond that date, and toll increases in the future,
because the Parkways Authority, which runs the Turnpike, estimated more than 75
percent of the traffic on the Turnpike comes from outside of the state.
She said that means state residents
would not be solely responsible for keeping West Virginia
“We’re making it as painless as we
can make it on the West Virginia
To be implemented, the recommendations from the Blue Ribbon
Commission on Highways will have to have the approval of Governor Tomblin and
the Legislature. The 2014 Regular Legislative Session begins in January.
