WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTRF) – Almost every West Virginian agrees on one thing: the state’s roads are in terrible shape.
One person who feels that way is Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who spoke with 7News on Thursday.
Sen. Capito is currently serving as chair of the EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee. When she joined the Senate in 2015, Congress passed a five-year highway bill called the FAST Act. That bill increased federal dollars going to the Mountain State.
It’s now Congress’ goal to draft and pass another long-term highway bill before September 2020, something Senator Capito has been working on for months.
“The highway bill we re-authorize every five or six years is really the heart of the highway program in West Virginia,” said Sen. Capito. “That’s where all the federal funding comes from, which is 80 to 90 percent of what funding goes for our transportation. So the most important thing is to preserve that funding.”
Sen. Capito has been working to make sure that the federal highway bill includes investments in West Virginia, especially when it comes to ensuring that bridge repairs are a top priority. On Thursday, the EPW Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee held a hearing focused on this bill.
Senator Capito wants to make one thing clear. She says that something needs to be done about West Virginia’s dilapidated bridges in order to avoid a catastrophe.
