BLUEFIELD — A $1 million federal grant will boost a project the City of Bluefield is planning to provide better roads and access between the East End and downtown Bluefield.
U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., made the announcement Thursday.
Capito is Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and both are members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The funding is for the “West Virginia Department of Transportation to support the planning and development of a transportation project in Bluefield.”
This money is earmarked for a planning study and preliminary engineering analysis to develop the “preliminary plans and environmental documentation for the future development of a … corridor that would expand and enhance access and transit between the East End, downtown Bluefield, and local amenities.”
“That’s great news for the folks in our area,” said City Manager Cecil Marson, who recently briefed the Board of Directors about trying to find funding for the major project.
He told the board last month the city has been working on grants to see that roads and sidewalks are fixed in the East End and North Side areas, as well as citywide.
“It is a major project,” he said, and will take a few years to complete, assuming the money can be obtained after a cost estimate is determined.
The East End and North Side areas have been plagued with bad roads and the situation was exacerbated in 2019 when the Grant Street Bridge closed.
That bridge provided better and safer access from that area into the city.
A new bridge is under construction and should be open later this summer.
But Marson has recognized how much work needs to be done on the narrow, winding streets in that area, including widening, repaving and sidewalk installation.
“Communities across West Virginia continue to
see the benefits of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” Capito said in
announcing the grant. “The funding announced today will enable Bluefield to
begin planning for a future project that can enhance access to local
businesses, schools, and recreation activities. In my role on the EPW
Committee, I’ll continue to advocate for resources that are critical to
improving the core infrastructure of West Virginia’s cities and towns.”