Story by Joe Nelson
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The work to improve West Virginia roadways appears to be an ongoing battle that state leaders hope to try and tackle this year.
New state Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh took part in a presentation of a report issued by national transportation research nonprofit TRIP, where he reaffirmed a “crucial” need to address road and highway infrastructure in the Mountain State. His statement followed the release of details in the report that mentioned that over 30 percent of West Virginia roads, regardless of size, have been determined to be in an insufficient state despite billions of dollars worth of investments.
“It really echoes and shows that the investments we’ve made have, while they have helped, it is not adequate,” Rumbaugh said after the presentation of the TRIP report on Tuesday.
Along with the concern regarding state roads and highways that are considered either below-par or are in a state of desperate repair, Rumbaugh also pointed out data points he considered concerning related to Mountain State bridges.
According to the report by TRIP based on data collected at the end of 2024, 19 percent of West Virginia’s approximately 7,200 bridges are in poor or structurally deficient condition. This is despite the state DOT reporting that 1,231 Roads to Prosperity projects are being completed out of a proposed 1,320.
Rumbaugh expressed a need for the DOH to improve on efficiency moving forward.
“Our goals are to get our good roads level increased and to decrease the poor structures,” said Rumbaugh. “We hope to work over that and concentrate on those areas over the next four years.”
Rumbaugh said bridges that were classified as insufficient, particularly around portions of Interstates 79 and 68 are getting work.
“Currently on I-79, from Bridgeport up to Morgantown on I-68, all those bridges along through there, we are working to replace and we’re widening them to six lanes, so that will continue for the next year or two,” Rumbaugh said.
Rumbaugh emphasized a goal for the state Department of Transportation to continue the efforts started back in 2017 as part of the Roads to Prosperity Program implemented by former Gov. Jim Justice. Rumbaugh said it will include the continued use of the remaining bond funds remaining as part of the initial $1.6 billion bond vote as well as expanded uses of private sector companies to improve on road maintenance approved by the state legislature in recent years.
“A few areas of the state are growing, and that’s a great thing, but it does create a congestion problem and we realize that we need to work on these areas also to get ahead of the game where we can,” Rumbaugh said.