2013R3064A
1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 63
(By Senators Kessler (Mr. President), Beach, Chafin, Cole, 2
3 Fitzsimmons, Green, D. Hall, M. Hall, Jenkins, Palumbo, Plymale,
4 Snyder, Stollings, Tucker, Unger, Wells and McCabe)
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6 Recognizing the one hundredth year of the West Virginia Division of
Highways.
Whereas, Prior to 1913, the West Virginia Legislature
9 designated that all road work was under the direct authority of the
10 county courts and the county road engineer; and
11 Whereas, In 1913, the West Virginia Legislature saw fit to
12 create the State Road Bureau to oversee a coordinated roadway
13 system to serve the citizens of this state; and
14 Whereas, The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 provided federal aid
15 to those states for the improvement of any road on which the United
16 States mail is or may be transported; and
17 Whereas, The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 required states to
18 provide a match to receive federal funds, to establish a state
19 highway department that shall oversee the maintenance of state
20 highways; and
21 Whereas, The West Virginia Legislature replaced the State Road
22 Bureau with the State Road Commission in 1917 and agreed to match
23 federal funds and maintain all roads constructed with federal-aid
24 funds; and
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2013R3064A
1 Whereas, In 1920, the first bonds were issued under the Good
2 Roads Amendment, which provided up to $50 million for construction
3 of roads to connect county seats in the state; and
4 Whereas, In 1921, the West Virginia Legislature dedicated
5 motor vehicle license fees to a newly created State Road Fund; and
6 Whereas, In 1923, the West Virginia Legislature enacted the
7 first gasoline tax of two cents per gallon dedicated to the State
8 Road Fund for the repayment of highway bonds and for the repair,
9 maintenance and reconstruction of roads and highways; and
10 Whereas, In 1933, the West Virginia Legislature passed an act
11 to place practically all roads on the State Road System and relieve
12 the counties of their maintenance of roads; and
13 Whereas, Said act transferred 4,417 roads designated as the
14 State’s Primary System and 29,098 miles of roadways in a Secondary
15 System; and
16 Whereas, In 1948, construction began on the state’s first
17 limited-access highway: US 119/WV 10 in Logan County; and
18 Whereas, In November, 1954, the first high-speed expressway
19 was opened as a two-lane toll road from Charleston to Princeton and
20 named the West Virginia Turnpike; and
21 Whereas, The Appalachian Regional Development Act was passed
22 by Congress in 1965 to promote commerce in Appalachia with the
23 development of a highway system; and
24 Whereas, The Federal-Aid Highway Act was passed in 1968 by
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2013R3064A
1 Congress and established the national bridge inspection standards
2 as a result of the 1967 tragedy when forty-six souls lost their
3 lives as a result of the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point
4 Pleasant; and
5 Whereas, The West Virginia Legislature renamed the State Road
6 Commission the Department of Highways; and
7 Whereas, The Department of Highways completed construction of
8 the award-winning New River Gorge Bridge on US 19 in Fayetteville,
9 creating the world’s longest single-span steel arch bridge with a
10 length of 3,030 feet and a 876-feet rise above the New River; and
11 Whereas, In 1988, the Department of Highways completed the
12 final section of Interstate with the opening of Interstate 64 from
13 Sam Black Church to Beckley and the 2,179-feet Glade Creek Bridge
14 in Raleigh County; and
15 Whereas, In 1989, the West Virginia Legislature reorganized
16 state government, creating a Department of Transportation and
17 renaming the department as the Division of Highways; and
18 Whereas, During the construction of the Interstate Highway
19 System and the Appalachian Corridor System, the Division of
20 Highways had over ten thousand employees and served as a major
21 economic source for the state by employing thousands of
22 construction workers, suppliers and manufacturers; and
23 Whereas, With the completion of the majority of major
24 highways, the Division of Highways today oversees approximately
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2013R3064A
1 thirty-six thousand miles of highways with approximately five
2 thousand employees; and
3 Whereas, The Division of Highways is only one of four states
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4 charged with the massive task of maintaining most highways in the
5 state; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate :
That the Senate hereby recognizes the one hundredth year of
8 the West Virginia Division of Highways; and, be it
9 Further Resolved, That the Senate hereby honors the West
10 Virginia Division of Highways for one hundred years of service in
11 developing a safe statewide transportation system; and, be it
12 Further Resolved , That the Senate invites all citizens of West
13 Virginia to join in recognizing the West Virginia Division of
14 Highways and its employees for one hundred years of contributions
15 to the state in providing a safe highway system; and, be it
16 Further Resolved , That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward
17 a copy of this resolution to the West Virginia Division of
18 Highways.
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