Once touted as a key economic development tool for southwestern and central West Virginia, the $32 million Heartland Intermodal Gateway is likely to shut down this fall, and go on the auction block within a year, Transportation Secretary Byrd White said July 2.

West Virginia Transportation Secretary Tom Smith told state legislators Jan. 29 that West Virginia drivers are already beginning to notice road improvements as part of Gov. Jim Justice’s four-year, $2.8 billion “Roads to Prosperity” program.

Gov. Jim Justice’s proposal to sell $1.4 billion or more in bonds to fund highways and infrastructure projects reached a receptive audience in West Virginia Contractors Association Executive Director Mike Clowser.

Legislation to increase highway funding in West Virginia by more than $290 million a year — primarily through increasing the state sales tax from 6% to 7% — is headed to the state’s House of Delegates, which has proved adverse to tax hikes.

As the Senate Transportation Committee advanced a bill Feb. 9 to keep tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike, one senator said it's well past time for the state to have a plan for transportation funding.