Federal Highway Bill Will Mean $2.6 Billion, 100,000 Jobs

West Virginia’s construction industry will get a big boost in the coming years thanks to a new federal highway spending bill. Under the bill, West Virginia will receive more than $2.6 billion in federal funds during the next five years for highway and bridge construction, maintenance and repair. Most of these federal funds will be matched by a 20 percent contribution from the state -- roughly $400 million more. The bill includes:

• $404 million annually for ongoing highway construction, including the King Coal Highway and the Coalfield Expressway projects in Southern West Virginia. This comes to a total of $2.02 billion.
• $432 million for ongoing work on the Appalachian Corridor highway system.
• $150 million specifically earmarked for new highway construction projects, including $87 million for U.S. 35 in Putnam and Mason counties.

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that 47,500 new jobs are created for every $1 billion spent on transportation nationally. Given this, West Virginia’s employment base could grow by more than 100,000 jobs.