Published September 1985 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd ARC: A Needed Highway Program for West Virginia Often, I hear from West Virginians who are concerned about the condition and status of the state's network of highways. In recent years, the Administration has tightened the purse strings on federal highway funding throughout the country. West Virginia has been no exception, but in our state the need for new highways is more critical than in many other areas of the country. That is why I have continued to fight for highway funding under the Appalachian Regional Commission. Much good has been accomplished for West Virginia through the ARC highway program, but more work needs to be done. For example, completion of the Corridor G highway between Charleston and Williamson on the Kentucky border is especially important. This new highway, which is only feasible with ARC assistance, will substantially reduce travel time, thereby enhancing commerce, in areas of southern West Virginia which have been hit by exceptionally high levels of unemployment. We know from experience the impact that the Appalachian highway system has on local communities. According to a study completed several years ago, finished segments of the ARC highway network have helped to attract many new businesses to West Virginia, creating over 40,000 jobs in the process. Failure to complete construction now underway would preclude the realization of such benefits for other areas of the state in the future. Because ARC highways are so important to West Virginia, I offered an amendment to provide $50 million in funding for the ARC highway program in legislation that recently passed the Senate. Although this amendment is small in terms of highway building, it will help to continue the program which has been so helpful to West Virginia and the rest of Appalachia. Funding for the ARC has faced a great deal of opposition in the Senate this year, with the Administration having called for zero funding of ARC highway construction. In addition to the $50 million for ARC highways, the bill passed by the Senate provides $31.3 million for ARC economic development programs. The total amount of funding in this bill, $81.8 million for the ARC, is still less than I want to see, and I will press for additional funding when the bill goes to conference committee with similar House legislation. Since 1980, the ARC has been kept alive in Congress by those of us who recognized the many benefits that it has provided to the people of Appalachia. The need for the ARC remains critical, and my commitment to supporting it remains unshaken. September 11, 1985