Capital Projects Fund Aids West Virginia's Billion Dollar Broadband Strategy

In October 2021, Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) announced a billion-dollar strategy to bring broadband access to 200,000 homes and businesses in West Virginia. “We’ve been talking for years about how to fix the rural broadband problem. Now we’re finally going to do it," he said. The plan got a $136 million boost from the U.S. Department of Treasury on June 7, 2022. The funding will help expand high-speed broadband to 20,000 locations—10 percent of locations in the state that lack access to broadband. The American Rescue Plan provides $10 billion for payments to eligible governments to carry out critical capital projects that directly enable work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the public health emergency. The Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (Capital Projects Fund) will help ensure that all communities have access to the high-quality modern infrastructure needed to access critical services, including broadband. “I could not be any more appreciative of the Treasury for making our West Virginia Coronavirus Capital Project Fund one of the first four such plans approved,” said Gov. Justice. “Now it’s up to us to put these funds to good use bringing more of our communities into the 21st century and opening the door to a brighter future for our people.”