U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $25,852,107 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for three West Virginia transportation projects.

The funding will be used to upgrade and improve transportation infrastructure in Parkersburg, construct a multipurpose transit center in Martinsburg, and design a solar-powered hydrogen fuel plant in Grant County.

“I am pleased DOT is investing more than $25 million in these three critical transportation projects,” said Senator Manchin. “The funding announced today will help make vital improvements to Pike Street in Parkersburg, including adding new lanes and sidewalks, as well as establish a multipurpose transit station in Martinsburg and design a solar-powered hydrogen fuel plant in Grant County. I’m proud to have supported all three of these projects, and I look forward to seeing their positive impacts for decades to come. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to support transportation infrastructure and opportunities across the Mountain State.”

Funding to Support Freight, Passenger Transportation Infrastructure Projects

DOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program provides funding to support freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects at the state and local levels.

Individual awards are listed below:

• $10,960,000 – West Virginia Department of Transportation Division of Highways, Parkersburg: WV-14 Improvements

This project will construct and widen approximately 0.49 miles of WV-14 (Pike Street) from three to five lanes from Blizzard Drive to 26th Avenue, convert the Blizzard Drive intersection to a five-legged roundabout, add turning lanes to the Gihon Road intersection, add sidewalk capacity throughout, ADA accessible sidewalks, crosswalks, crossing signals, stormwater improvements and lightening improvements throughout.

• $10,322,107 – West Virginia Department of Transportation, Berkeley County: Eastern Panhandle Rural Multimodal Transit Center

This project will construct a multimodal transit center in Martinsburg, which will include a transfer center, administrative building, fuel station, maintenance and storage facilities, stormwater improvements, ADA compliance, bicycle parking, and charging infrastructure for electric buses and personal vehicles.

• $4,570,000 – West Virginia Department of Public Transit, Grant County: Potomac Highlands Hydrogen Fuel Initiative

This project will design a solar-powered hydrogen fuel plant in two main phases. Phase I will include the construction of a Photovoltaic Array to provide electricity for an Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Plant. Phase II will include the development of facilities that will support the compression and storage of hydrogen on-site and its delivery to onsite stations for hydrogen fuel cell-powered transit vehicles.