West Virginia

[seicer]

Many bridges from that final phase of Interstate 64's construction are being rehabilitated with deck overlays and painting, but none have involved significant substructure rehabilitation. The highway was opened in 1988, but many of those bridges, depending on the segment, were built from 1982 until 1988.

[Beltway]

Many bridges from that final phase of Interstate 64's construction are being rehabilitated with deck overlays and painting, but none have involved significant substructure rehabilitation. The highway was opened in 1988, but many of those bridges, depending on the segment, were built from 1982 until 1988.

1988 is old enough -- 37 years old -- a long time for a freeway bridge that carries large volumes of cars, trucks and buses.

I was thru there a few weeks ago and the bridges do indeed need rehabilitation.

[seicer]

H. Laban White Memorial Bridge Project
The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) will hold an informational workshop public meeting on August 19, 2025, at the Waldomore building on the grounds of the Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library, 404 W. Pike St., Clarksburg, WV, to provide background information on the proposed H. Laban White Memorial Bridge project. This project includes the replacement of two existing bridges structures, the H. Laban White Memorial Bridge, carrying United States (US) Route 19 over West Fork River, and the West Pike Street bridge carrying US-19 over Elk Creek. Along with the bridge
work, the existing intersection of US-19 and West Virginia (WV) Route 20 was evaluated for replacement with a Y-intersection, roundabout, or conversion to a T-intersection. This meeting complies with the public involvement requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966.

• The H. Laban White Memorial Bridge - Google Street View
• US 19 and SR 20 intersection - Google Street View
• Elk Creek Bridge - Google Street View

• Alternatives and matrix: I am a fan of alternatives 5 and 6 with the roundabouts, as they simplify a complicated junction. I am not a fan of alternatives 2, 3, or 4, as they feature very wide turning radii with undefined barriers that seem out of scale for an urban environment with pedestrian crossings. I am not a fan of alternative 1, as it incorporates a dated and confusing intersection design.
• Preferred alternative: Alternative 1 will be moved forward. I hope they incorporate better pedestrian crossings, as few exist on the map.
• Flyer

[seicer]

Construction is wrapping up on the six-lane widening project along Interstate 79 in Fairmont. The lanes were opened to traffic yesterday.

-

Ramp closures on Exit 95 on the West Virginia Turnpike to begin Tuesday, September 2, 2025
8/28/2025

Google Street View: These ramps have 14'8" clearance.

Portions of the West Virginia Turnpike Exit 95 access ramps at Kanawha City will be closed beginning Tuesday, September 2, 2025, for a construction project.

In July, Kokosing Construction Company was awarded a contract for $2,961,631.40 to replace the two Exit 95 ramps that cross under the Charles Chuck Yeager Bridge. The new ramps will be lower, to create more clearance under the bridge.

Construction is expected to be complete in late November.

During construction, traffic will still be able to use the Exit 95 interchange, but the ramp to access WV 61 North will be closed. Traffic will be able to get onto the Turnpike from WV 61 South, but the northbound access ramp will be closed.

[Bitmapped]

Ramp closures on Exit 95 on the West Virginia Turnpike to begin Tuesday, September 2, 2025
8/28/2025

Google Street View: These ramps have 14'8" clearance.

Portions of the West Virginia Turnpike Exit 95 access ramps at Kanawha City will be closed beginning Tuesday, September 2, 2025, for a construction project.

In July, Kokosing Construction Company was awarded a contract for $2,961,631.40 to replace the two Exit 95 ramps that cross under the Charles Chuck Yeager Bridge. The new ramps will be lower, to create more clearance under the bridge.

This should have just been converted to a T-intersection with WV 61. There is a very short weave between the trumpets for the Turnpike and for WV 61, and there are already a bunch of signals along the WV 61 corridor. A T-intersection would have eliminated the weave and ongoing maintenance expenses of the WV 61 ramp overpass.

As an aside - at the weave, the ramps are signed for MacCorkle Avenue east and west. No mention of WV 61, which is on MacCorkle Avenue and is signed north/south. The same problem exists at Corridor G, but at least there is ground-mounted signage there for WV 61.

[Great Lakes Roads]

A sign replacement project is coming to I-81...

[SP Cook]

https://wvmetronews.com/2025/08/30/doh-jefferson-road-project-done/


SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways says all of the cones are up and the Jefferson Road 5-lane widening project in South Charleston is done.

All lanes are open from Corridor G (U.S. Route 119) to MacCorkle Avenue (U.S. Route 60) –including on the overpass.

DOH-hired contractor Kokosing Construction completed the final paving and striping Friday.

Kokosing was awarded the $46.8 million contract in April 2019. The featured section is a new bridge that goes over Kanawha Turnpike and a pair of CSX railroad tracks.

"Additional work to tie in the new road with driveways and access the West Virginia State Police facility and other businesses remains to be completed, but should be finished by the end of September," the DOH said in a Friday news release. "A formal celebration and dedication of the project will be scheduled for the near future."

[hbelkins]

A sign replacement project is coming to I-81...

It hasn't been that long since the last one.

[Bitmapped]

A sign replacement project is coming to I-81...

It hasn't been that long since the last one.

The existing signage predates the move to Clearview and back, and still uses periods at the end of abbreviations. It's probably 20ish years old.

[seicer]

https://wvmetronews.com/2025/08/30/doh-jefferson-road-project-done/

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways says all of the cones are up and the Jefferson Road 5-lane widening project in South Charleston is done.

All lanes are open from Corridor G (U.S. Route 119) to MacCorkle Avenue (U.S. Route 60) –including on the overpass.

DOH-hired contractor Kokosing Construction completed the final paving and striping Friday.

Kokosing was awarded the $46.8 million contract in April 2019. The featured section is a new bridge that goes over Kanawha Turnpike and a pair of CSX railroad tracks.

"Additional work to tie in the new road with driveways and access the West Virginia State Police facility and other businesses remains to be completed, but should be finished by the end of September," the DOH said in a Friday news release. "A formal celebration and dedication of the project will be scheduled for the near future."

Courtesy of WVDOH:

[seicer]

The new US 33 alignment near Spencer is now visible on Google.

In my opinion, WVDOT would be wise to invest in more of these types of lower-cost but high-value safety and efficiency projects for the future instead of blasting new corridor alignments, especially in a time of financial austerity (state) and a rollback of federal dollars. An example of where this methodology could be applied is the Tulsia Highway (US 52) project, which is planned to be four lanes between US 119 at Williamson and Interstate 64 at Ceredo. Much of that alignment is an improved two-lane built in the 1960s-early 1980s with low traffic counts. Instead of blasting out new corridors, the existing route could be improved in place with better access control. Or instead of trying to scope an Interstate 68 corridor west of Morgantown, improving US 250 with straighter alignments and some small bypasses could work better.

[Bitmapped]

The new US 33 alignment near Spencer is now visible on Google.

In my opinion, WVDOT would be wise to invest in more of these types of lower-cost but high-value safety and efficiency projects for the future instead of blasting new corridor alignments, especially in a time of financial austerity (state) and a rollback of federal dollars. An example of where this methodology could be applied is the Tulsia Highway (US 52) project, which is planned to be four lanes between US 119 at Williamson and Interstate 64 at Ceredo. Much of that alignment is an improved two-lane built in the 1960s-early 1980s with low traffic counts. Instead of blasting out new corridors, the existing route could be improved in place with better access control. Or instead of trying to scope an Interstate 68 corridor west of Morgantown, improving US 250 with straighter alignments and some small bypasses could work better.

I agree wholeheartedly. Small, incremental improvements like straightening curves, adding turn lanes, and making minor relocations should be what WVDOH focuses on rather than new corridors. These sorts of projects are much cheaper, can be done in pieces as funding is available, and provide usable improvements for the local people along the corridor. An I-68 extension or the proposed King Coal Highway are only going to provide access points every 5-10 miles. These upgrades along existing corridors integrate into the existing road network.

WV  rebuilt most of its US and WV routes in the 1920s and 1930s on straightened alignments. This is what serves as the backbone of the state route network today, and in most cases, it's perfectly adequate. Traffic flows at 50-55+ mph outside of towns on many of these routes.

A focus on fixing those small sections that do impede traffic makes a lot more sense than building new long-distance alignments. Set a target like eliminating curves with advisory speeds below 40mph and work from there.