The U.S. Department of Transportation is helping West Virginia repair roads damaged from a spate of bad weather.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia will receive $5 million in emergency relief funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help pay for a portion of nearly $65 million in damages to the state’s roads after recent rainstorms and inclement weather.
“These funds are vital to helping the people of West Virginia and other states hurt by storms of this magnitude,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a news release issued Tuesday. “We are doing everything we can to help ensure damaged roads and bridges are repaired quickly, so life can return to normal as soon as possible in the affected areas.”
More than half of West Virginia’s 55 counties were granted federal disaster relief following a March 5 storm, which blanketed portions of the state with as much as a foot of snow. In the aftermath of the snowstorm, the state also experienced heavy rainfall, which caused flooding, road slips and landslides throughout West Virginia.
As a result, the state’s highway system experienced significant damage. Among the roads damaged was U.S. 52 in Wayne County, which connects southern West Virginia’s coal to port facilities.
West Virginia officials estimate the damages at nearly $15 million. The $5 million in federal funds will be used to repair damages to culverts and pavement in about 150 locations throughout the state…