Edit: City entrances, state politics and high school sports

In the 28 years since, people have taken to calling the Robert C. Byrd Bridge by the name of its predecessor, the 6th Street Bridge, which was demolished in early 1995. The green paint on the Robert C. Byrd Bridge has faded, and patches of yellow have become more visible.

But that’s about to change.

Wednesday morning, the northbound and southbound slow lanes of the bridge were closed to traffic so work crews could install containment tarping for the project. KMX Painting was awarded a contract for $10,284,462 to clean and paint the bridge a dark green.

The bridge is one of the main entries into Huntington, just as Hal Greer Boulevard is. Speaking of which, work to improve that corridor has begun. These two projects are among several steps taken to improve access to Huntington from Interstate 64 and elsewhere. Those include the two new bridges over Fourpole Creek at 8th and 5th streets, which are excellent and attractive replacements for their predecessors.

A good first impression can do wonders for a town. Repainting the Robert C. Byrd Bridge is another improvement in that regard.

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With Gov. Jim Justice unable to seek re-election next year because of term limits, a long line of contenders has emerged to take his place. On Tuesday, state Auditor JB McCuskey became the seventh Republican to announce that he will run for that office.

McCuskey’s competitors include Huntington-area car dealer Chris Miller and a host of statewide elected officials. No Democrat has announced plans yet, although Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has said he is thinking about running as he, too, is barred from re-election because of term limits.

The filing period doesn’t begin until January. In the interim, the people who have announced — and some who haven’t formally announced — will test the waters to see if they can raise the money and achieve enough name recognition throughout the state to make a run feasible. West Virginians have shown they tend to prefer familiar names, although that does not always guarantee election. Most of the Republican hopefuls are known statewide, although Miller probably lags in that regard for now. The same is true with Williams.

Voters who pay attention to politics should have fun as the field of governors-to-be narrows as the heat of summer bears down on them.

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Finally, high school basketball teams are in the postseason. The beauty of youth sports is that they have not been taken over by big money the way Division I college sports have been. Most high school coaches don’t have to worry about NIL opportunities and transfer portals. At least not yet. May it remain that way.