Friday, January 22, 2010
Governor Wants Parkways Authority Expanded
WEST VIRGINIA...
Joe Manchin is asking the Legislature to expand the West Virginia Parkways Authority and revive its bonding capacity with an eye toward installing tolls on roads that are both feasible and accommodate mostly out-of-staters. For those reasons, policy director Jim Pitrolo says, this likely would eliminate the possibility of tolls on the King Coal Highway and Coalfields Expressway. As once-reliable revenue streams dwindle to a trickle and construction costs keep rising, the administration is looking at other means to find money to build and maintain roads. The Legislature decided to forbid any new bonds by the road’s board without its approval. Ultimately, after a series of public hearings in the four counties touching the turnpike — Fayette, Raleigh, Kanawha and Mercer — the authority last summer imposed the first lasting fare increase since 1981. The bill being prepared by the Manchin administration would eliminate the terms “economic development and tourism” and leave the board simply as “West Virginia Parkways Authority. A key element in the measure would be that any new tolls couldn’t be implemented unless a road’s majority users live out of state.
Joe Manchin is asking the Legislature to expand the West Virginia Parkways Authority and revive its bonding capacity with an eye toward installing tolls on roads that are both feasible and accommodate mostly out-of-staters. For those reasons, policy director Jim Pitrolo says, this likely would eliminate the possibility of tolls on the King Coal Highway and Coalfields Expressway. As once-reliable revenue streams dwindle to a trickle and construction costs keep rising, the administration is looking at other means to find money to build and maintain roads. The Legislature decided to forbid any new bonds by the road’s board without its approval. Ultimately, after a series of public hearings in the four counties touching the turnpike — Fayette, Raleigh, Kanawha and Mercer — the authority last summer imposed the first lasting fare increase since 1981. The bill being prepared by the Manchin administration would eliminate the terms “economic development and tourism” and leave the board simply as “West Virginia Parkways Authority. A key element in the measure would be that any new tolls couldn’t be implemented unless a road’s majority users live out of state.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 8:32 AM 
