Corridor H could be complete in less than six years

From the time of the Romans over 2000 years ago it has been known that a good road system promotes business and commerce. In 1965 the much needed Corridor H project was initiated as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System for the same reasons. Now some forty-four years later about a third has yet to be completed.[i] For comparison in March of 1942 the US Army began constructing a road to connect Alaska to the rest of the nation. They finished the 1,422 mile unimproved two-lane road through a complete wilderness eight months later in November of 1942.[ii] Interstate 80 which was the first transcontinental Interstate to be completed took only thirty years to complete[iii] its 2899 mile length. The estimates for a Corridor H completion date is still twenty-six years away.[iv] An entire generation of West Virginians will have been born, gone through school, worked a life time and retired before Corridor H’s completion. To build 133 miles of the transcontinental Interstate 80 took an average of sixteen months.

The question to many; Why is the 133 miles Corridor H taking close to seventy years to complete? The short answer for the long delay is the flawed funding mechanism the state is currently using. It relies too heavily on fickle Earmark funding from Washington, funding that can be easily taken away as happened recently.[v] Barry Goldwater once said, “A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away”[vi] and that is exactly what happen with the Corridor H funding. The state is required to pay 20% of Corridor H construction cost with the Federal Government providing the other 80% through the Appalachian Region Commission.[vii] The reason stated by the Obama Administration for eliminating the latest Corridor H funding was because the Federal portion was exceeding the 80% formula.[viii]

West Virginia can no longer afford to wait to finish Corridor H and as a result we must change the funding model the state is currently using. Let’s compare the current model the state is using to build Corridor H to building a new home. It would be as if when you got your pay check you took a small portion and used that money to buy a few two by fours, some sheet rock or shingles. You would then build a small portion of your new home. Every once and awhile you might get a tax refund or better yet a stimulus check (Earmark) from the government, then you run out, splurge and build a bigger chunk of your new house. The problem with this method is the part of your home you are building now would be much more expensive then the part you built in 1965, meaning overall construction cost will be much higher in the end. Additionally you will not have your home ready to move into until your ready to retire and you would be unable to use it to raise your family. That is why, for the most part, we don’t fund new home construction in this way.

The way most new homes are constructed is we borrow the money, build the new home in a short period of time, move in and pay for it over time. This accomplishes several things. One it locks the price in to the prices at the time of construction. Two it still allows us to pay for the new home over the same amount of time. Lastly it allows us to use the home during our life time. The state should be using the exact system funding method to complete the final sections of Corridor H over the next four to six years, instead of waiting the estimated twenty-six years to completion.[ix]

West Virginia’s bond rating is in the middle of the pack,[x] and the state has been working hard to maintain or improve it. In other words the state has a good credit rating and this gives us the ability to have a good interest rate on a loan to complete Corridor H in the near future. Right now the estimate for building a mile of Corridor H is $22 million per mile.[xi] If we continue to use the current funding method, that final mile of Corridor H will cost the taxpayers around $51 million to build in twenty-six years,[xii] costing the tax payer an additional $29 million the last mile alone. If we build it now by issuing bonds we lock the construction cost in at $22 million per mile. We cannot wait to complete Corridor H and continue this current fiscal irresponsibility.

We must borrow the money to complete Corridor H within the next four to six years locking in the cost savings to the taxpayer. It will provide a strong economic impact in the construction industry during construction over the next four to six years helping to offset the current job losses in the state. As the road nears completion the increased traffic along the route will help create jobs in the travel service industry from Hardy County to Lewis County. The increased ease of transport will help retain and attract industry along the route now, all the while increasing tax revenue for the state without increasing taxes.

The increased tax revenue will make it easier for the state to pay its 20%, while the rest of the loan payments are made with the guaranteed 80% Federal matching funds. If we change now and stop waiting on earmark funding, then we take control of our own destiny and will no longer be subject to whims of Washington politics. Now is the time for West Virginia to stand up, be fiscally responsible and complete Corridor H within six years.

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[i] WVCorridorH.com, The Route, Project Timeline

[ii] MSN, Encarta Encyclopedia, Alaska Highway

[iii] Federal Highway Administration, Celebrating the Eisenhower Interstate System, Facts of the Day March 5, 2009

[iv] Foxnews.com, Byrd’s Road to Nowhere, March 10, 2009

[v] Charleston Daily Mail, Obama’s budget eliminates Corridor H funds, May 8, 2009

[vi] Famous-Quotes.com, Famous Quotes by Barry Goldwater

[vii] Appalachian Regional Commission, ARC Project Guidelines, Section 3.2

[viii] The Intermountain, Obama budget eliminates Corridor H funds, May 8, 2009

[ix] Foxnews.com, Byrd’s Road to Nowhere, March 10, 2009

[x] Michigan State Senate, Senate Fiscal Agency Memorandum, Table 2 State Bond Ratings, Feb. 20, 2007

[xi] Foxnews.com, Byrd’s Road to Nowhere, March 10, 2009

[xii] InflationData.com, US Long Term Inflation Rate

Opposing more rail regulation keeps our highways clear

As a longtime member and current secretary of the U.S. 50 Association, I am usually focused on state issues that have a detrimental effect on our highway system, and on Route 50 in particular. But all too often it is legislation at the federal level that has unintended negative effects on our road system. One such initiative currently in the works is legislation that would roll back the Staggers Act of 1980, named for Congressman Harley Staggers of Keyser, and reregulate our nation’s rail systems.

In West Virginia, of course, our railroads are particularly important to our ability to transport coal safely and efficiently to energy suppliers across the nation. Ever since they were deregulated, railroads have provided a means of transportation that helps keep coal affordable and ready accessible for energy providers in every part of the United States.

But another, often overlooked, benefit of our rail system is the service it provides in keeping our highways and roads from being even more congested with truck traffic than they already are. If the Staggers Act is repealed or seriously rolled back – as legislation in the last Congress would have done – our roads would be even more congested and damaged by shippers using semi trucks to an even greater degree than they are used today.

As everyone traveling our highways knows, our roads and bridges are deteriorating quickly, and we can hardly meet the needs of pothole repair and general repaving and maintenance as it is. Legislation that would raise the cost of doing business with our railroads would only increase the damage to our roads.

It’s important to compare the efficiency of our railroads with the extra burden that would be placed on our highways if the Staggers Act was repealed. For example, one typical multi-car locomotive does the work of more than 280 semi trucks. It costs $1 million to $3 million per mile to add capacity to rail, as opposed to $10 million or more per mile to add a lane to urban highways.

As the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said in its Freight Bottom Line Report. "Relatively small public investments in the nation's freight railroads can be leveraged into relatively large benfits for the nation's highway infrastructure, highway users and freight shippers.

Furthermore, railroads are there times as energy efficient as trucks. A train can move a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of fuel, and are also three times cleaner. Since truck fatality rates are four times higher than train fatality rates, moving freight by rail will also save lives.

Since the Staggers Act was passed in 1980, the freight railway industry has seen drastic, quantifiable improvements, including a 168 percent increase in productivity, an 85 percent increase in rail traffic, and injury rates that have fallen by 68 percent.

For some reason, Sen. Jay Rockefeller has long been seen as an opponent of the railroad industry. But in this case, all West Virginians should hope that he will join many of his colleagues in opposing any effort to roll back the Staggers Act and reregulate our rail system. The railroad industry has been good for West Virginia, and for the coal business. Just as importantly from my point of view, our current system helps keep our highways and roads less congested than they otherwise would be. Let’s keep it that way.

I'd like to thank President Eisenhower!

I recently completed a business trip to Nevada for the annual SEMA trade show. That is the largest trade show in the world and it just happens to be in the industry that I am in. Unlike most people that flew to the trade show, I chose to drive.

Yes you read that right. I drove from Keyser, WV to Las Vegas, NV. 2300 miles out in 35 hours, and 2300 miles back in 36 hours. We switch off drivers and drive non-stop. That would not have been possible just 40 years ago.

In 1919 a then Lt. Eisenhower was involved in a military experiment. A convoy left Washington, DC in route to San Fransisco, CA. It took over 2 months to drive across the nation. The roads were horrible. An excellent book American Road by Pete Davies chronicles the trip. I highly recommend reading it. Today you can drive that same trip in 48 hours by switching drivers.

In 1945 then General Eisenhower saw the Autobahns in Germany and how easily it was to move transport. The combination of those events in Eisenhower's life led to him signing the Defense Highways Act in 1956, which created the Interstate Highway System we enjoy today.

While we complain about the road construction, we have one of the best highway systems in the world. Sometimes we tend to take that for granted. During my trip of close to 5,000 miles I encountered very few problems. On they way back Interstate 44 through Oklahoma City was probably the worse piece of road. West Virginia actually had some of the best sections of Interstate.

It is easy to see that roads are essential to commerce when you drive the nations interstate system. At night across Kansas and Colorado on the way out, and across New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma the road became almost the exclusive domain of heavy trucks. While the travelers mostly stop at night, commerce keeps right on rolling.

The Interstate system lead to the huge growth in the US Economy since World War II, and for the most part that system is working well. In West Virginia we face a crisis in roads and we need to solve the problem. As we go deeper into the 21st Century we will need to look at new ways of funding our highway system. We need make sure the WVDOH is properly funded, but we must also make sure they are spending funds wisely.