West Virginia Turnpike legislated to hand out $100k/year to Republican leader's favorite horse park

West Virginia pols must be among the country's most shameless favor traders to do business in any state Capitol. Loud in their denunciations of the state's Turnpike authority for the condition of the Turnpike, and louder against any move to raise tolls - they've remained the same in depreciating dollars since 1981 - they nevertheless continue to find inventive new off-road uses for the Turnpike's revenues.

The latest to hit the local news was in a rider to a bill this week requiring the Turnpike to provide $100k/year for a horse park in Princeton in Mercer County in the state's southeast. The Turnpike is already required by law to provide handouts to the Hatfield McCoy Trails that cater to All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) which they advertise, and horsey recreationers.

Asked about the late night rider providing for the $100k/yr Turnpike handout to someone's horse park by a reporter from the Beckley Herald, a perplexed Turnpike General Manager Greg Barr hearing about it for the first time said: "...For us to pay? Oh, gosh... What can I say? They make the laws."

The $100k/yr horse park handout was initiated by the State Senate Minority Leader, Republican Don Caruth (Mercer Co) who said it was a "small amount of money" and that the horse park is in a county bordering the Turnpike. The Hatfield-McCoy ATV/horse trails he pointed out - sponsored by Democrats to the tune of $250k/yr subsidies - are in counties remote from the Turnpike.

Never short of arguments, Caruth says help to the Princeton horse park will generate more traffic for the Turnpike since it is not far from a Turnpike exit. Next he'll appeal to the green constituency with the argument that Republican Turnpike-subsidized horses in his horse park are better for WV air quality than Democrat Turnpike-subsidized ATVs?

Governor said toll support for boondoggles was to be cut

Only a year ago the state Governor, Joe Manchin (Dem) announced a policy for the so-called West Virginia Parkways Economic Development and Tourism Authority (the state has no Parkway) that owns the Turnpike to get out of the business of "economic development" and "tourism promotion" that has seen it pouring money in a bunch of business busts, the biggest of which is the Tamarack arts and crafts center, always featured in Turnpike literature and signs.

The governor hasn't yet said whether he'll veto the bill which includes Caruth's horse park subsidy.

Turnpike deteriorating from deferral of maintenance - engineers

Consulting engineers to the 142km (88 mile) Turnpike that carries I-77 and I-64 across the Appalachians have that reported neglect of maintenance has caused its capital value to decline by 20% since 1990. A busy 12.6km (7.8 mile) stretch near Beckley, they report, has grown unsafe and provides a low level of service because of failure to add a needed third lane each direction plus other geometric improvements. Deferral of $100m of needed maintenance has added significantly to rehab and reconstruction costs, they said.

Feds stepped in, allowing state to step out

Back in the 1980s the Feds provided gas tax grants to West Virginia to double the Turnpike from two lanes to four divided so the state didn't have to raise tolls.

WV pols responded by eliminating ramp tolls opening many sections of the road to non-tollpaying customers, and by freezing toll rates.... for ever, it seems, while remaining toll revenues seep off-road.

A bipartisan call for renewed federal support for "vital infrastructure" in West Virginia cannot be far off.

see http://www.wvturnpike.com/

TOLLROADSnews 2008-03-06