Future federal highway funds could be in jeopardy in West Virginia, according to a recent letter from the Federal Highway Administration to the state Department of Transportation.
Thomas J. Smith, a federal highway administrator, sent the Jan. 2 letter to Transportation Secretary Paul A. Mattox Jr.
"For many years, the West Virginia Department of Transportation and FHWA have worked together in partnership to ensure that highway projects are planned, designed, construction and maintained in a fully satisfactory manner," writes Smith in the letter. "However, we believe that a recent trend within the WVDOT potentially jeopardizes this ability to continue to satisfactorily deliver the program."
Federal reviews in recent years "have noted a significant and substantial loss of knowledge and experience within WVDOT due to retirements and/or resignations. This problem is compounded by the DOT's inability to attract, replace or retain staff with similar experience in a timely manner," Smith wrote.
Mattox was unavailable for comment Friday, said Susie Watkins, a DOT spokeswoman.
But another DOT official, Marvin Murphy, a state highway engineer, said on Friday that the state has responded to Smith's letter.
"This has been a growing problem over a number of years," Murphy said. "With Baby Boomers retiring, it has become more critical. We are making quite a number of efforts to increase pay and to attract people to work for us.
Those efforts include hiring back some retirees as temporary workers, he said.
"And we are hiring other temporary employees where we can," Murphy said.
Mattox previously said 70 percent of DOT's engineers would become eligible for retirement over the next five years.
One member of the House of Delegates' Roads and Transportation Committee said the letter was worrisome.
"I can't imagine this has ever happened before in the history of the state," said Harold Michael, D-Hardy. "I am really concerned about Corridor H and highways all across the state."
Michael said he hasn't gotten an explanation from DOT yet.
"It is a major story, a major development, if we have that concern from federal highways officials that the department [West Virginia Department of Transportation], for whatever reasons, is not prepared or competent to do the job the state needs to do," he said. "I am trying to get some answers out of Highways, but so far it has been very limited."
Smith's letter said the problems with DOT developed recently.
After he took office in January 2005, Gov. Joe Manchin appointed Mattox to replace longtime DOT Commissioner Fred Van Kirk.
Van Kirk, who is also an engineer, supervised highway construction for many years under the administrations of Govs. Jay Rockefeller, Gaston Caperton and Bob Wise.
Smith's letter cites a federal regulation requiring West Virginia and other states to "be responsible for ensuring that such [highway] projects receive adequate supervision and inspection to ensure that projects are completed in conformance with approved plans and specifications."
Federal grants provide 80 percent of all money used to build roads in the Appalachian Highways program and 90 percent of the money used to construct interstate highways.
Murphy said DOT often relies on hiring private contractors today to perform work once done by state employees.
"With our engineering work, we can call on our consultant community to help us," he said. "In projects, in cases of emergencies, we can call on our contracting community as well."
Murphy said the DOT is also trying to raise "salaries to meet competitive standards."
Pay has been a problem, said Gordon Simmons, chief steward for the West Virginia Public Workers Union/UE Local 170.
"I handle a lot of grievance cases in the Division of Highways," Simmons said on Friday. "One of the common complaints I hear from our members is that positions are intentionally left unfilled. When you compound that with low pay, you won't attract people."
Simmons said he believes current state policy is "privatization by stealth."
The state is "trying to privatize state highway operations by strangling the work force, by not filling vacant positions," he said. "Then they have to turn to private contractors, who cost a lot more than competent people on the state payroll doing the same work."
In his letter to Mattox, Smith stressed, "We believe that this topic, in particular, warrants your prompt attention. As soon as possible, we would like to schedule a meeting to be briefed on the WVDOT's workforce planning efforts that will ensure that these basic program requirements are being met."
Murphy said Mattox and DOT officials had two recent conversations with federal officials.
Murphy also said he doesn't think the state is paying private contractors too much.
"We are getting very economical work out of the consulting community," he said. "We don't see any huge problems, but it is a problem we need to continue to work on."
Simmons said DOT's workforce is being made smaller intentionally.
"The rumors I hear from various highway garages around the state are: 'If you have three positions open, do not expect ever getting more than two of them filled.'"
