Justice unveils secondary road maintenance equipment
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CHARLESTON -- Surrounded by a fleet of brand-new dump trucks, Gov. Jim Justice and state transportation officials unveiled Thursday the latest in new equipment to help get West Virginia's secondary roads in shape.
Justice and Division of Highways Commissioner Jimmy Wriston showed off the new equipment Thursday at the Division of Highways Equipment Division in Buckhannon.
"Look around here, this is amazing," Wriston told an array of highways employees before introducing Justice. "This has never happened before with (the Division of Highways) to have this much equipment for our guys to get out there and get these roads fixed with. It's never happened before."
Besides dump trucks, new equipment included tandem steamrollers, Gradall excavators for clearing ditches and new highway mowers. The equipment will be distributed among the state's 10 highways districts. All told, more than 280 pieces of new equipment will be distributed to the DOH districts by fall.
Justice told the employees that this equipment was just the tip of the iceberg.
"I've been to a lot of places, but other than a dealership I've never been to a place like this," Justice said. "I have never seen a place that had this much brand-new equipment, and this is only a fraction of it. There are all kinds more coming."
Last week at an event in Marshall County, Justice delivered the first of 10 Gradall machines — used to clear or dig drainage ditches along roadsides as well as for many other road maintenance projects.
Justice praised the Division of Highways staff for the work they've done on secondary road maintenance since March when the governor made the maintenance work his top priority. According to the state Department of Transportation, more than 1,078 miles of new paving have occurred between March 16 and July 9, representing 3 percent of the state's 34,691 miles of secondary roads.
"When you see these great people, men and women, doing this kind of work every day within the state and you happen to be stopped, you tell them you thank them and appreciate them," Justice said. "If you're not stopped, at least wave and let them know you appreciate them."
During the same March 16-July 9 period, highways employees have used 92,000 tons of asphalt for patching and have cleared 13,000 shoulder miles of ditches, officials said.
On Tuesday, the Department of Transportation released a list of secondary road maintenance projects through the end of the year for all 55 counties. These projects include mowing, patching, stabilization, ditching, though none included any paving projects. Those lists can be viewed at transportation.wv.gov and clicking "Secondary Road Maintenance Initiative" on the right side of the screen.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com