Published: October 26, 2009 05:25 pm      

Building bridges: Stimulus funds spanning Virginia

More than 119 bridges across the Commonwealth will either be replaced or repaired in the coming months through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board announced last week that it had awarded seven construction contracts to replace 119 structurally deficient bridges across the state that would have otherwise not been repaired.

The awarded contracts, totaling $50.7 million, are part of the Commonwealth’s continued efforts to invest $694.5 million in highway funding from the federal recovery act, according to the office of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

A number of bridges in Southwest Virginia have been targeted for repair or replacement, including bridges spanning Waddletown Road, Kimberling Road and Poor Valley Road, all in Bland County. A bridge spanning Mud Fork Creek in Tazewell County also is scheduled for repair with the federal stimulus funds. Another six bridges in Wythe County also will be either repaired or replaced, including structures spanning Wysor Highway, Saint Peters Road, South Fork Drive, Castleton Road and Berea Road.

“These bridge replacements and repairs will address a significant safety issue in our transportation network and put Virginians back to work,” Kaine said last week. “While Virginia is consistently named one of the best states for business, we must maintain our infrastructure to stay economically competitive and keep our citizens safe. No state or nation can grow out of a recession with a crumbling infrastructure, and I am very happy that these funds will provide immediate jobs and economic stimulus, as well as long term dividends for the Commonwealth.”

We, too, believe that crumbling infrastructure across Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia should and must be repaired or replaced. When lawmakers first started talking about the massive $787 billion federal stimulus package more than a year ago, we were told that the majority of the federal funds would be used to build new roads and bridges across the nation — similar to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1933 — to help jump start the failing economy.

Unfortunately, key roadway projects across our region, including the King Coal Highway, the Coalfields Expressway and the Shawnee Parkway, have yet to be awarded any federal stimulus dollars.

We are happy to see some federal stimulus dollars being used on roadway projects in our region.

There is no question that crumbling infrastructure, and structurally deficient bridges, must be replaced.