(Letter to the Editor - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

It appears that there will be in excess of a billion dollars of lost revenue to the state of West Virginia if the governor’s tax cut proposal is finally passed and fully implemented.

I am advised that one eight-mile section of Route 2 that is presently under construction that involves huge construction costs with a high rocky ledge costs $200 million, which is an average cost per mile of $25 million. At that rate, $25 million per mile, a billion dollars would fund 40 miles of four-lane highway. If we could continue this billion dollar “surplus” for ten years, it would mean that West Virginia could fund 400 miles of four-lane highways.

I doubt that we need 400 miles of four-lane highways and I don’t believe that we could put that many miles under contract in ten years, but the foregoing demonstrates the huge cost of the governor’s proposal and just how great the detrimental effect will be on our state. The loss of funds will not only affect roads, but also schools and other state needs for a benefit to a few wealthy citizens.

Robert Friend

Vienna