WASHINGTON (WV News) — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has secured $20 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation to repair bridges in North Central West Virginia.

The funds, allocated through the department’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants program, will fund infrastructure repair projects for 19 bridges rated in poor condition along Interstate 79 in Harrison, Marion and Monongalia counties.

Capito, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she received a call from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Thursday morning confirming the BUILD grant funds.

“How we got this project is we worked with the West Virginia Department of Transportation to identify road projects that could become BUILD projects,” Capito said. “Working with them, we identified 19 bridges going from Mon, Marion and Harrison. They are all within those counties along the I-79 corridor. There’s a lot of traffic there, and we want to make sure they are structurally sound and very well maintained.”

Around 20% of West Virginia bridges currently have “structural deficiencies,” Capito said.

“It doesn’t mean they are unsafe, but it means that require more maintenance, repair and improvement,” she said.

“This will go a long way to improving what is a very heavily traveled area in the North Central part of the state,” Capito said.

The projects will be administered by the state Department of Transportation, but they will likely not start until next year.

“I don’t know if it would be in time for construction season this fall, but probably into the spring where we could do all the planning and move forward,” she said. “Because it’s 19 bridges, I don’t imagine it’s massive projects on each bridge. Some of it could just improvements to decking and other areas that can be done with ease of traffic.”

Capito, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, said she has made securing funds for bridge repairs and maintenance a top priority.

“I’m very concerned about the bridge aspect of West Virginia, because we have so many bridges. That’s just the nature of our beautiful mountains,” she said.

During her time as chair of the subcommittee, she has been able to secure $201.4 million in discretionary federal highway funds, including $80 million in BUILD Grants, Capito said.

The state received just $10 million in discretionary highway grant funds from January 2014 to November 2018.

Over the past 21 months, since she became chair of the subcommittee, the state has received roughly 20 times more highway funds than it did during the previous five years, Capito said.

“Which I think is really important in terms of these higher-priced projects or projects that might not be your top priority but may be really important to certain regions,” she said.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., released a statement praising the funding.

“Many of West Virginia’s bridges are in critical condition and in desperate need of repair. These bridges are more than 40 years old, and this investment on the part of DOT will create safer roadways for generations of West Virginians,” he said. “I am pleased by DOT’s investment in fixing our bridges and will continue to fight for funding that addresses long-term issues which affect West Virginians every day.”