Wheeling University President Dianna Vargo, left, presents flowers to Gayle Manchin, co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, after Manchin provided the keynote address at Wheeling University’s state of the university luncheon Thursday. (Photo by Joselyn King)

WHEELING – West Virginia has been building its state road system for six decades, and it’s still “only 92 % complete,” explained Gayle Manchin, co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

As such, people shouldn’t be surprised that availability of high speed internet and entry for some onto the information highway isn’t progressing at full speed.

Manchin, also a former first lady of West Virginia, provided the keynote address Thursday at Wheeling University’s Troy Theater as the school played host to its State of the University luncheon.

ARC started the work in 1965 to create a highway system through Appalachia that still isn’t completely finished, according to Manchin.

She said there are people from outside of Appalachia who wonder why the work hasn’t been completed in 60 years.

“If it were easy, anyone could do it,” she continued. “It’s not easy building a highway system through these mountains and that’s why no one has done it before.

“And if you think that’s bad, you should see what we have to do now with the broadband highway. It’s not any easier than the concrete highway.”

Every person should have connectivity to broadband, just as they do to electricity, Manchin said.

“Would you buy a house without electricity?” she asked. “Broadband is as important today as having electricity for children and families.”

But the cost to provide fiber-optic broadband is about $50,000 per mile, she explained. In areas where maybe only two families live along that mile, providing broadband is not yet affordable.

“The people who live in Appalachian communities should have the same opportunities and choices that everyone in this country has,” Manchin said. “So in 2026, we continue that mission of pushing for infrastructure, and pushing for economic opportunities to grow.”

Manchin said as co-chair of the ARC, she collaborates with the governors of the 13 states that comprise Appalachia, as well as their state chairs.

Together they work with local communities in the region who take pride and ownership in the projects that are initiated there.

She noted the effect is seen in Wheeling, where local officials report within the last year there have been 29 active community projects funded by the ARC.

“That’s what we’re talking about when we talk about economic development. We’re talking about people,” she said.

There are presently 26 million people living within the Appalachian region, with only California and Texas having larger populations, Manchin noted.

“We should think about what we have in common, and how we can work together,” she said.

Bishop Mark Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston could not attend the luncheon celebrating Wheeling University, West Virginia’s only Catholic university. He is presently in Rome with other bishops for a meeting with Pope Leo IV.

Through Chad Carter, chancellor of the Diocese, he provided remarks calling WU “not just a center for academic excellence, but a center for truth and reason.”

Dianna Vargo, president of Wheeling University, spoke of the university’s mission of “life, leadership and service.” She called upon representatives of WU’s engineering to speak of the work-based education provided there.

In addition, representatives of the student ambassadors program spoke of how students there are collaborating with the Ohio County Growth and Retention program to help increase population in the county.