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"We're going to have a great year paving. We're going to do a lot of bridge work. We're going to have another banner year in West Virginia with infrastructure."
Forgive West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston if his enthusiasm for road work exceeds what perhaps the rest of us might experience. It sounds as though his agency has a plan to get ahead of things this year. In what the West Virginia Division of Highways terms "an aggressive spring repair blitz," it says it will have every pothole in the state patched by Memorial Day.
It's an effort to avoid too many claims, and avoid the hottest weather for DOH workers. Wriston's office reported there is also a core maintenance plan to keep ditches clear and stop water from pooling beside roadways, cut back trees and branches to allow sunlight to dry wet roads, and do a better job with those pothole patches.
"A proper patch on a pothole will last for years, meaning there will be fewer potholes to patch next year and the years thereafter," the DOT reported.
While they are doing all that work, drivers have some responsibilities, too. Leave in plenty of time to be delayed by road work, be patient, obey the speed limit and do not drive distracted. Remember, DOH workers are out there getting a job done for us.
"With work continuing in all 55 counties across the state, the West Virginia Division of Highways and the West Virginia Department of Transportation remind the public of the importance of keeping everyone safe in work zones by keeping 'Heads up; phones down!' it said in the announcement of the repair blitz.
We've all had our complaints about the state of West Virginia's roads. If the DOH is doing its best to make amends, the least we can do is respect them and do our best to keep them safe while they're at it.