CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- There is no way to complete U.S. 35 without making it a toll road, a spokesman for the Division of Highways said Wednesday.

The $200 million needed to fund the construction of the 14-mile stretch of highway between Buffalo and Henderson can be obtained only through tolls, DOH spokesman Brent Walker said.

"We haven't seen funds come to us that allow us to complete that stretch any other way," he said.

The DOH will hold public meetings at the Mason County Courthouse Monday and the Putnam County Courthouse Tuesday to discuss the possible implementation of tolls on U.S. 35.

The public will have a chance to voice their concerns about the potential toll road. The tolls will be nixed if the public is vehemently opposed, Walker said, but the road will not be completed if that happens. 

"Overwhelmingly, if the people say 'absolutely not,' then let them say that knowing what the outcome will be," he said. "There is a good chance it will not get built then."

Without tolling, the road will likely be built a mile at a time when funding becomes available. Walker said this could take as long as 25 years.

Walker said DOH hired consultants to do studies to determine whether tolls can effectively pay for the road.

The public's opinion is important in the meetings, Walker said, but DOH could approve tolls regardless of public outcry if the traffic studies reflect that tolls are the most viable option for the road's completion.

"We're not trying to stick it to the community," Walker said. "We have to figure out a way to pay for it."   

Walker said if DOH decides to go ahead with toll implementation, then the state Parkways Authority will hold a meeting at the end of the summer to discuss the number of potential toll booths, their locations, and the rate of the tolls.  

To a lesser extent, the meetings will cover the environmental effects of the implementation of U.S. 35 as a toll road. Walker said those discussions are required any time the scope of a highway construction project changes. In this case, U.S. 35 was originally meant to be free, but now the scope has changed to include possible tolling.

Walker said when the project to construct U.S. 35 was introduced in the 1990s, the state did not have all of the funds available. The state built useful sections of the road as funds became available, he said.

So far, $450 million has been put into the completed sections of U.S. 35. Fourteen miles of the road are now open. Another eight miles are under construction. That leaves 14.6 miles in Putnam and Mason counties lacking funding.

The funding crisis is not limited to West Virginia, Walker said.

"Like it or hate it, states around the country are faced with the same issues West Virginia is faced with," he said.

Above all, Walker hopes that community members in Putnam and Mason counties will go to the meetings with an open mind. Avoiding U.S. 35 after it becomes a toll road defeats the purpose of all the work that has been done on the highway so far, he said.

"I can't speak for the public on the surface," he said. "We just ask that they go to the meetings and give us their opinions."

The first toll meeting will be held Monday, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Mason County Courthouse. The second meeting will be held Tuesday at the Putnam County Courthouse at the same time.

Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.