David Fahrentold reports in the Washington Post:
[P]ork, the habit of using taxpayer money for a legislator’s pet cause.… appears to be stronger even than death.
That’s clear from the story of the Robert C. Byrd Highway, a decades-old road project in West Virginia that had received earmarked funds for years from Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D‑W.Va.), the longest-serving senator in history, who died in 2010.
The highway has been maligned as a wasteful road to nowhere. But, now, it has outlived earmarks. It has even outlived Byrd.
This year, with continued support from Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D‑W.Va.) the highway got $40 million in federal money. It will need about that much every year, state officials say, until it’s finished in 2035.
