HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.
14
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and
Delegates Staton, Sparks,
Wright, Yeager, McGraw, Susman,
Thompson and Mahan)
Requesting the West Virginia
delegation in the United
States Congress to support
and assist the incorporation
of the Coalfields Expressway
into the Appalachian
Development Highway System.
Whereas, The construction of
the Coalfields Expressway in
Southern West Virginia is due to
begin in 1999; and
Whereas, The Coalfields
Expressway needs approximately 1.5
billion dollars for completion; and
Whereas, Motorists in West
Virginia pay into the Highway Trust
Fund at the rate of 18.4 cents tax
for each gallon of gasoline
purchased and 24.4 cents tax on
each gallon of diesel fuel
purchased; and
Whereas, The Appalachian
Development Highway system was
conceived by the United States
Congress with the intention of
aiding the economy of the entire
Appalachian Region and is now
funded directly though the Highway
Trust Fund; and
Whereas, A recent study on the
Appalachian Development Highway
System has concluded that upon
completion, this system would
provide 42,000 new jobs, 84,000 new residents, 2.9 billion dollars in
new wages and 6.9 billion dollars
in value-added business in the
region served by the system; and
Whereas, The Coalfields
Expressway, when completed, would
traverse the counties of Raleigh,
Wyoming and McDowell, and would
greatly benefit these counties in
the form of increased employment
opportunities and economic growth;
and
Whereas, Two of these three
counties, Wyoming and McDowell,
consistently place near the top of
state and national unemployment
lists; and
Whereas, The Coalfields
Expressway is not a part of the
Appalachian Development Highway System, instead receiving funding
through special appropriations from
the United States Congress at
irregular intervals; and
Whereas, The funding received
by the Coalfields Expressway has
thus far consisted of a single
appropriation of 50 million dollars
in 1991 and a single appropriation
of 22.7 million dollars in 1998;
and
Whereas, Incorporation of the
Coalfields Expressway into the
Appalachian Development Highway
System would allow for additional
funding to complete the Coalfields
Expressway from the Highway Trust
Fund; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of
West Virginia:
That the members of the West
Virginia delegation to the United
States Congress are hereby
requested to make all possible
efforts to support and assist the
incorporation of the Coalfields
Expressway into the Appalachian
Development Highway System; and, be
it
Further Resolved, That the
Clerk of the House of Delegates is
hereby directed to forward a copy
of this resolution to all members
of the West Virginia delegation to
the United States Congress, to the
Clerk of the United States House of
Representatives, to the Clerk of
the United States Senate and to the
Executive Director of the
Coalfields Expressway.