BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVDN) – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a leader on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) and Appropriations Committees, made two stops in southern West Virginia focused on infrastructure and economic development.
First, Senator Capito traveled to the Bluefield Area Transit along John Nash Boulevard in Bluefield, W.Va., where she spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for a natural gas infrastructure extension project. In 2021, Senator Capito secured $2,959,000 in Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) awards to extend natural gas infrastructure four miles from Bluefield to John Nash Boulevard at Exit 1 on I-77, which includes the Cumberland Industrial Park. In June 2023, Senator Capito joined local officials for the official funding announcement for the project.
“West Virginia is blessed with many natural resources, and utilizing natural gas in our state is essential to further local growth, spark economic development, and create American energy independence. I was proud to secure the funding necessary to help make this project a reality and look forward to seeing the impact it will make in Mercer County,” Senator Capito said.
“This gas line project will serve dozens of businesses and residences. It will support hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of investment in Mercer County. We could not have made it to this point without the help of Senator Capito, Governor Justice, and the Mercer County Commission who all contributed funds to the project,” John O’Neal, Director of the Mercer County Development Authority, said.
Later, Senator Capito traveled to Beckley, W.Va. to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony and tour progress on the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority’s (NRGDA) new for Planning and Accelerating Textile Technology and Entrepreneurship Regional Network (PATTERN) Textile Lab and Manufacturing Center in partnership with West Virginia University (WVU) Tech. In January 2023, the NRGDA received a $1,500,000 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) award for the facility, which was secured solely by Senator Capito.
“The establishment of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve has resulted in a boost in visitors from all over, leading to great potential to fill voids in the outdoor textiles prototyping industry here in West Virginia. As a leader on the Appropriations Committee, I was proud to advocate for the support needed to establish this lab in southern West Virginia, and it was great to see the progress firsthand in-person. This type of collaboration is critical to moving our state forward and strengthening our business climate, and I can’t wait to see what it does for local businesses when it is fully up and running,” Senator Capito said.
“We are blessed in the New River Gorge region and statewide to have Senator Capito on our team,” Jina Belcher, Executive Director of the NRGDA, said. “In every way, Senator Capito and her skilled staff offer us the ability to dream big and bring innovative project ideas to her attention. PATTERN is one of our most game-changing economic development initiatives.”
