Capito wants to visit East End

The planned East End infrastructure work as well as the history of the area have a strong supporter in Washington.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said during a virtual press briefing Thursday she is on board with bringing communities who missed out on infrastructure projects during the last decades up to standard with roads and streets.

Capito, who had announced the $1 million grant last week for Reconnecting Communities, said it is a great project and she wants to visit Bluefield and see the East End area for herself.

“I would love to visit the area in Bluefield where the Reconnecting Communities grant is,” she said. “I think there is a lot of merit here, certainly when some of the highways and other things were built, some communities were left out.”

Capito said as downtowns age, some areas become more disconnected to the main community.

“I am really pleased this is going to work,” she said. “I think it is part of a streetscape way to bring that area back in.”

Capito said a visit is something she looks forward to.

“I would love to see and hear the history of that area,” she said. “I look forward to doing that.”

Capito said this may be the beginning of “how we can help in Bluefield in this particular way, but also I think it is going to be a good example of how to reconnect in rural America.”

Bluefield is a “good place” to show how these communities can reconnect, she added.

Sen. Joe Manchin joined Capito in announcing the $1 million grant, which be used for planning the project.

Both Manchin and Capito are on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Capito is Ranking Member of the Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW).

In December, Capito was elected by her Senate Republican colleagues to serve as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the fifth most powerful leadership position in the Senate GOP.

“The funding announced … will enable Bluefield to begin planning for a future project that can enhance access to local businesses, schools, and recreation activities,” she said. “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.”