The jury still is out on Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's plan to spend an estimated $99.8 million on an 2.6 mile road to the former Hobet surface mine.
On Monday, residents of Boone County, where Tomblin wants to create a business development park on the 12,000-acre site, got a chance to learn more about the proposed project at a public meeting at Brookview Elementary School.
While the handful of residents in attendance said they were in support of finding a way to attract new businesses to the struggling region, they still questioned whether spending millions of dollars on a highway to a reclaimed strip mine is the best use of state funds.
Jerry Thompson, who owns a home near the preferred route for the proposed four lane highway, said his community seems to be split on the Hobet project, which the Governor's Office has promoted as the best chance of diversifying the economy in Southern West Virginia.
As he looked over a map of four alternative highway routes for the surface mine, Thompson said he likely falls on the side of supporting the project because it offers some type of hope for new jobs.
"Boone County needs something," he said.
Not everyone has been as supportive of Tomblin's plan, which he first announced during his 2016 State of the State address.
Late last week, the Contractors Association of West Virginia came out strongly against the project, arguing that the use of nearly $100 million from the state road fund is not needed when funding for repair of existing roads and bridges is in decline.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Transportation has rejected the state's application for a $40 million highways grant that was going to help pay for the project, which doesn't include the cost of paving the road or building an interchange where it meets Corridor G.
Douglas Hill, another resident of Boone County, said he understands the concern over the project's price tag, especially when the state is expecting other budget issues in the coming year.
"You start talking about moving mountains," Hill said, "you're talking bucks."
But Hill, who has lived his entire life in Boone County, sees the highway project as an investment in Southern West Virginia's future.
At a time when the region's coal industry is rapidly declining, Hobet is one of the only bright spots, he said, even though no businesses have publicly expressed interest in moving to the isolated mountaintop.
With Tomblin's time in office running out, Hill said he believes the governor is doing the right thing by pushing for the project before he leaves.
"I hope it goes," Hill said. "I'm thinking about the jobs down the road."
Reach Andrew Brown at andrew.brown@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4814 or follow @andy_ed_brown on Twitter.