Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia announced Dec. 21 that he has approved the bid award for two new Roads to Prosperity projects: the West Virginia Route 2 Proctor to Kent Project in the Northern Panhandle, and the Sanderson Bridge Project in Kanawha County.

In 2017, Justice began the Roads to Prosperity Initiative, which has funded and built several new roads, highways and bridges throughout the state.

"[Each] of these [new] projects are important for the communities they serve, and all West Virginians should be really proud of how much work our Division of Highways is getting done through my Roads to Prosperity program," Justice said. "Even during the pandemic, they continue improving our transportation network, which will allow us to bring more people and businesses into our great state for years to come – not to mention all of the jobs that these projects provide."

Jimmy Wriston, the deputy secretary of the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), described WV 2 between Proctor and Kent as a vital link through the area.

"It's heavily traveled and much-needed," he continued. "These two projects would not be possible without Gov. Justice's big, bold vision for the Roads to Prosperity program. It's so good to finally be able to move projects forward all over the state, projects which would have previously taken much longer to complete. We're moving forward, more quickly, every day."

The winning bid for the WV 2 Proctor to Kent project was awarded to A.L.L. Construction Inc., from Mount Storm, W.V., for a low bid amount of $95.9 million.

The road work, approximately 5.25 mi. in length, upgrades a two-lane stretch of WV 2 to a four-lane.

"This project is one of many on WV 2 that will ultimately provide a safe, convenient highway with increased traffic capacity," explained Melanie Neal, the WVDOT project manager. "This will be the last section in Marshall County to be upgraded to a four-lane highway and the connecting piece between the four-lane existing highway at Proctor and the four-lane highway under construction at Kent."

When finished, the road will increase safety for the traveling public and make travel in the panhandle more efficient.

The low bid for the Sanderson Bridge was $473,000 and awarded to Williamstown's Alan Stone Co. Inc.

"The Sanderson Bridge project is important because it upgrades a bridge that has already served its time," said Warren Skaggs, a bridge repair and design engineer with WVDOT District 1. "The existing bridge was built in 1970 with a narrow roadway width and a 67-foot span length. The deck is wood and not in great condition. The new bridge will be a concrete box beam with a wider roadway length."

A temporary detour will be in place while the new bridge is under construction.

"The existing Sanderson Bridge is what we call a fracture critical structure, and we had to post a weight restriction on it," reported Tracy Brown, another WVDOT bridge engineer. "The new bridge is structurally redundant, which is a good thing, and it will be built to current standards and design codes. I cannot stress the importance enough of projects like this – it's not just convenience, it's public safety. We've been able to make a lot of progress with our bridges all around the state, thanks to the Roads to Prosperity program."

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