WVDOT makes progress on road repairs, but financial challenges lie ahead
According to a press release, the most recent TRIP report, a national transportation research nonprofit, stated that 19 percent of West Virginia's estimated 7,200 bridges are structurally deficient or in poor condition, meaning they have at least one issue that needs fixed.
The TRIP report is a good tool for measuring the condition of highway systems. We appreciate the data that they collect and the way it serves the public.
Poor and structurally deficient does not mean unsafe. We would not ask our citizens to cross any bridge we would not willingly cross ourselves.
Stephen T. Rumbaugh, P.E. | Secretary of Transportation
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The percentage of structurally deficient bridges is down from 20 percent in 2024. Rumbaugh stated that the department has been able to invest millions of dollars into bridge repair and replacement throughout the last five years, acknowledged within the report.
WVDOT was able to increase the annual amount of investment in road, highway, and bridge repairs and improvements by 67 percent from 2018 to 2023, from $678 million to $1.132 billion. Since 2018, WVDOT has repaved nearly 8,400 miles of roadway and made repairs to more than 3,400 bridges.
Data from the recent TRIP report
Our goal is to get the number of poor bridges down below 10 percent.
Stephen T. Rumbaugh, P.E. | Secretary of Transportation
The report also stated that road fatalities in the state have increased. An estimated 1,340 people were killed in crashes in the Mountain State. Though road conditions were a factor in some crashes, the national rise in traffic deaths is widely attributed to distracted drivers, those impaired by drugs or alchohol, as well as drivers using their mobile phones.
Any death on a West Virginia highway is one too many. Our goal continues to be zero fatalities on our state roads. As far as cell phone use goes, put it down. Look around.
Stephen T. Limbaugh | Secretary of Transportation
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The report also highlighted funding challenges that the state faces as they try to maintain its systems of bridges and highways. Per the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), material and labor costs for construction projects increased by 45 percent from 2022 to mid-2024.
The combination of additional state and federal transportation funding has allowed West Virginia to move forward with numerous projects to improve the condition, use, and efficiency of the surface transportation network. While this has allowed the state to undertake dozens of needed transportation projects, West Virginia still faces a funding shortfall to make additional repairs and improvements to its road and bridges.
Data from the recent TRIP report
For more information, visit the West Virginia Department of Transportation's website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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