Gov. Tomblin's signature plan to build a roadway from Corridor G to the Hobet surface mine in Boone County has been put out for bid, but that project proposal may be raising more questions than answers.
Documents from the West Virginia Department of Transportation and questions from highway construction firms show the state's current cost estimates are likely wrong. They also show that state officials have conducted only limited research to date because of "scheduling considerations" and that the initial work for the route isn't expected to be done before September 2020 - four years after Tomblin leaves office.
Tomblin has continually promoted the idea of building a business park on the 12,000-acre former Patriot Coal mine since he first announced the initiative during his 2016 State of the State address. The roadway is the first step in that plan.
The governor has championed the project as one of the best hopes of diversifying the region's coal-dependent economy at a time when coal companies are filing for bankruptcy, people in southern counties are struggling to find work and the state government is faced with a $270 million budget shortfall.
But the project proposal and an accompanying transportation access study show the initial earthwork and bridge construction needed to complete the roadway from Corridor G to the reclaimed surface mine near Danville won't be finished until the second half of 2020 - eight years after Tomblin rejected efforts to form a commission to help diversify the state's economy.
Those documents, which were released on May 6, also show that state officials have only a vague idea of how much the project will ultimately cost. The transportation access study lays out four possible routes to the surface mine, with Tomblin's preferred route - the most expensive - costing an estimated $84.8 million for 2.6 miles of roadway.
But as questions from highway and bridge contractors revealed, those financial estimates likely aren't representative of the real cost. Tomblin wants to build a four-lane highway connection. The state's current numbers are based on constructing a two-lane road.
The financial estimates also don't include paving the roadway or constructing the full highway interchange, where it would meet Corridor G. The proposal doesn't cover the water, electric, gas and fiberoptic utility costs needed to get those services built to the mountaintop.
The governor's office responded to questions about the transportation documents by saying the state was following the normal process of planning and constructing a roadway and that the governor believes the project is in the best interest of West Virginians. The project, they added, was not being rushed to get a contract signed before Tomblin leaves office in January.
"Gov. Tomblin believes the opportunity to diversify southern West Virginia's economy and create the largest industrial-commercial-residential development site in state history is absolutely a worthwhile goal and the kind of long-term planning the state needs," said Chris Stadelman, Tomblin's communications director.
But contractors, who asked to remain anonymous because their businesses rely on winning bids for state government projects, said they have never seen West Virginia put out a transportation project proposal that is so "vague" and "generic."
The state government, they say, has never used financial estimates that are based on inaccurate road specifications. The state, they say, often provides more specific parameters of what the final design should include, and by this point in the process, at least some of the initial surveying, permitting and environmental work is usually completed.
One engineer, who viewed the proposal online, said the state is simply saying: "Here's the Hobet site. Here is 119. We need a road."
The current process being used by the state, Stadelman said, is normal for a "design-build" project, which largely relies on contractors to develop the design specifications, and the final cost. He said that model has been used successfully in other states.
Contractors that have reviewed the proposal, however, are also concerned by the state's financing plan. The state, according to the proposal, wants to pay the winning contractor $833,333 per month - roughly $10 million per year - to design and construct the 2.6 mile route.
If the project ends up costing more than $84 million, which contractors say is likely, the state will be paying on the roadway for more than eight and a half years - long after the work is completed.
That means the state will likely be paying millions to account for the contractor financing the project over that length of time, and once that portion of the roadway is paid off, the state will still need to accept new bids for paving the route and building the other half of the highway interchange.
Stadelman compared the financing setup to someone mortgaging a home and paying for it over years or decades.
It's still unclear where the Governor's office will pull money from in order to pay for the true cost of the project once the winning bid comes in.
According to Stadelman, Tomblin's plan is currently banking on obtaining a $40 million in federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rest of the cost, he said, would then need to come from federal money that the state receives annually to supplement the state road fund - the account used to maintain roads, bridges and highways throughout the state.
Last year, Tomblin released his Blue Ribbon Commission's final report on the state of West Virginia's roadways. That report found the state needed to invest an additional $750 million annually into the state fund just to maintain the current transportation system and another $380 million on top of that to expand.
Stadelman said that none of the other state transportation projects that are currently scheduled will be canceled as a result of the money being used for the Hobet project.
But one contractor said that statement was disingenuous, because state spending for paving, bridge and highway projects all comes from the same pot of money. If the money is being used for Hobet, he said, it can't be used in other parts of the state.
State officials are planning to award the contract for the multi-million-dollar road project by October - three months before Tomblin leaves office. But before that happens, contractors are hoping to get more information.
One contractor asked state officials if they would be willing to hold a meeting before the contracting companies submit their bids. The contractor said the meeting was needed because of the "sudden release" of the project and the "number of unknowns involved."
Tomblin's office says the project is on track and they believe it will end in success.
"Gov. Tomblin does believe that it's important to capitalize on this unique opportunity, and timing is important, because active mining on the Hobet site is wrapping up soon," Stadelman said. "By working with the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund and local landowners, the state is able to develop an incredibly valuable site in a timely fashion."
Reach Andrew Brown at andrew.brown@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4814 or follow @Andy_Ed_Brown on Twitter.