Governor Justice, WVDOH, Raleigh County Commission break ground on Beckley Z-Way project

BEAVER, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Governor Jim Justice was joined by state and local leaders as well as WVDOH employees for a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Beckley Z-Way project.

The $110 million undertaking is part of Governor Justice ‘s “Roads to Prosperity” program and seeks to alleviate traffic congestion issues on US 19 from Shady Spring, through Beaver, and into Beckley. This will be accomplished through the widening of US 19 and the construction of a new roadway from US 19 and Airport Road to Interstate 64 at the Eisenhower Drive Interchange.

“This is exactly the kind of project that the governor envisioned when he instituted the “Roads to Prosperity” program. This was a project that has lingered and lingered for decades because we’ve underinvested in our infrastructure for decades and decades. The governor knew that. He also knew that we were in trouble in West Virginia when he took office in 2017,” West Virginia Transportation Secretary, Jimmy Wriston said of the project. “We’ve turned that around, and we’ve done that by putting transportation and tourism at the front of the line. This is leadership that the governor has provided us. He had a vision, he took it to the people in West Virginia, and they endorsed it overwhelmingly…Transportation was tasked with executing that vision and this is what we’ve done.”

Raleigh County Commission President, Greg Duckworth provided remarks as part of the ceremony, making note of the potential benefits of the Beckley Z-Way project to citizens throughout the Raleigh County area.

“We here in Raleigh County, especially us here at this end of the county, we’ve been talking about this project for years,” said Duckworth. “This initiative doesn’t just represent the commitment to improving our infrastructure, but a pathway to a brighter and more prosperous future for all of us.”

Several state and local officials were in attendance for the ceremony aside from those who addressed attendees directly. These included House of Delegates member Brandon Steele, Raleigh County Commissioner Daniel Hall, and State Senator Rollan Roberts among others. Naturally, Governor Jim Justice took to the podium to address those who had made their way out for the event, commenting on the progress the state has made over the past several years.

“Here in West Virginia, we were the blunt end of a lot of bad jokes,” said Governor Justice. “Today, by the help of all of you – whether they be senators or delegates or mayors or commissioners or whomever it may be, all of us – today it’s a different animal, and we celebrate. We celebrate all the goodness that’s going on in our state.”