The West Virginia Turnpike did not greatly benefit from the Christmas holiday season.
Turnpike General Manager Greg Barr says traffic was down 10 percent the day after Christmas.
“It was kind of unusual for us,” Barr said.
He has no clear explanation for the drop. Barr says his toll director checked with a counterpart in New York that also reported a drop in traffic.
“They were down about two percent. They were down but not as much. I’m not sure (what caused the WV drop) but we’re going to watch it,” Barr said.
Turnpike traffic is up slightly for the current budget year, about 1.3 percent according to Barr.
“We budgeted for a flat year. The same as last year,” he said. “We know that there are still recessionary feelings about the economy.”
Turnpike traffic generates about $80 million a year in toll revenue.