Opening of the newest section of U.S. 35 once again stirred up the question of how, or whether, to fund the upgrading of the remaining 13 miles of highway between Buffalo Bridge and Henderson in Mason County.
Putnam County Commissioner Joe Haynes, who last year joined with fellow commissioners in Putnam and Mason counties in passing a resolution encouraging the state to seek alternative funding sources, including the possibility of toll roads to pay for the portion of the road between the Buffalo Bridge and County Route 40, said recently that he believes several problems may plague the toll road option.
"If the only way to finish the road is charging a toll, then that is what needs to be done," he said.
But Haynes wonders whether it would even be legal to charge a toll on the portion of the road which has already been completed.
CAMC Teays Valley Hospital CEO Al Michaels says the completion of the road could provide a major boost to the Putnam health facility by making it much easier for the Ohio Valley population to use the hospital here.
"I commuted for years over the West Virginia Turnpike and hated the tolls, but if that's what it takes then it needs to be done," he said.
The state Division of Highways has an annual budget of about $1 billion, and the unfunded stretch of the new U.S. 35 could cost up to $250 million alone.
After looking at various funding possibilities, the WVDOH has determined that to complete the 13-mile section, charging tolls of the U.S. 35 Corridor may be the only option to allow the project to be completed any time short of decades away.
Brian Woofter, who owns Goin'Postal in Teays Valley, said he also favored the toll option unless other funding sources become available.
Meanwhile, traffic flows speedily between Interstate 64 and Buffalo along four lanes of highway, until a sign announces "Right Lane Ends 1,000 Feet."
Then it's back to the deadly two-lane.