By Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Wednesday finally agreed on components of an infrastructure package that would green-light $550 billion in new spending.
The agreement came as civil engineering experts and clean energy advocates earlier in the day urged an influx of federal money into West Virginia to help the state navigate its economic and topographic terrain.
“We’re hopeful … that a bipartisan bill will be adopted and enacted,” American Society of Civil Engineers Executive Director Tom Smith said. “We think it’s important for West Virginia.”
The bipartisan infrastructure deal would invest $110 billion in new funds for roads and bridges, including $40 billion for bridge repair and replacement, $55 billion in funding to replace lead service lines and address dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), $65 billion in broadband infrastructure deployment, and $73 billion in power infrastructure upgrades…