Federal Flood Repair Projects in West Virginia Behind Schedule

Hundreds of federally funded flood disaster assistance projects in West Virginia are behind schedule.

The Intelligencer reports it’s been more than a year since the flood damage was declared a disaster, yet about 43 percent of the road repair projects haven’t even started.

Many of the projects are funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which set an Oct. 16 deadline for the repairs. Projects funded by the Federal Highway Administration have a September 2020 deadline.

The West Virginia Division of Highways says 2017 flood damages weren’t repaired by the time more floods hit the area last year. Highway division maintenance assistant Chuck Henry says progress is also slowed by worker shortages. He says it’s too soon to know how many projects will be completed by the October deadline.