CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice awarded over $1.6 million in Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program grants today for a dozen projects in cities and towns all across West Virginia’s Metro Valley region.

“I’ve been excited to award a bunch of these grants over the past few days, and not just in Charleston, but all over the state,” Gov. Justice said. “We just got these grants in on Monday and I said let’s get these out the door right away, because they help our communities in so many different ways.”

West Virginia Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program (TARTP) grants help towns and cities build and improve sidewalks, lighting, trails, and more. The program is administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation and funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

During this afternoon’s grant award ceremony, Gov. Justice awarded 12 grants, worth $1,607,500 in total, for a variety of projects in eight counties across the Metro Valley.

The grants announced today are among the most recent wave of TARTP grants to be awarded this year, which includes a total of 47 grants, worth over $8.6 million, for projects in 29 counties.

This week, Gov. Justice also awarded $2.5 million-worth of these grants for a dozen projects across north central West Virginia, and another $450,000-worth of grants for several projects across the Northern Panhandle.

Earlier this year, Gov. Justice presented another round of 38 TARTP grants, worth over $7.4 million, for additional projects in 27 counties.

In total, Gov. Justice has awarded over $16 million TARTP grants this year alone to communities all across West Virginia.

“There is so much goodness happening right now in our Metro Valley, and really all over West Virginia, it’s unbelievable,” Gov. Justice said. “To think where we were when I walked in the door as Governor, we were bankrupt. But we worked like crazy, got the economics of the state on track, and now we’re truly moving with surplus after surplus. We have all the momentum in the world, and we’re just getting started.”
The projects awarded today include:

FAYETTE COUNTY
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority
$150,000
Fayette County Trail System Project: Construction of approximately 75 miles of new trail within the Rimfire Trail System.

KANAWHA COUNTY
Kanawha County Commission
$187,500
Elk River Rail Trail Clendenin Trailhead: Design and construction of the Clendenin trailhead along the Elk River Rail Trail.

Town of Marmet
$50,000
Marmet Lens Creek Road Pedestrian Safety Improvements Project: Design of pedestrian path to connect the Town and school to Kroger.

LINCOLN COUNTY
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority
$100,000
Ivy Branch Trail System Maintenance Project: Maintenance on approximately 80 miles of existing motorized trail within the Ivy Branch Trail system.

MCDOWELL COUNTY
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority
$100,000
Warrior Trail System Maintenance Project: Maintenance on approximately 100 miles of existing motorized trail within the Warrior Trail system.

NICHOLAS COUNTY
City of Richwood
$400,000
Richwood City Sidewalks Project: Construction of replacement sidewalks on the North Side of downtown Richwood.

City of Summersville
$63,000
Summersville Webster Road Sidewalk Improvements Project: Design of new sidewalk along the west side of Webster Road in Summersville.

PUTNAM COUNTY
Town of Buffalo
$75,000
Buffalo Sidewalk Project: Design of ADA sidewalk on Main Street from Buffalo High to Elm Road.

Town of Eleanor
$75,000
Eleanor Park Sidewalk Extension Project: Design of new sidewalks in Eleanor park, pool, and fairgrounds.

City of Winfield
$125,000
Winfield Sidewalk System Project: Design of sidewalks within the City of Winfield.

WAYNE COUNTY
Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority
$100,000
East Lynn Trail System Maintenance Project: Maintenance on approximately 80 miles of existing motorized trail within the East Lynn Trail system.

WIRT COUNTY
Town of Elizabeth
$182,000
Elizabeth Sidewalk Improvements Project Phase 5: Design and construction of 920 linear feet of replacement sidewalk along School Street and Franklin Street in Elizabeth.