CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Thursday ordered a comprehensive review of all 7,345 bridges in West Virginia, pairing the directive with a $74.5 million rehabilitation of Charleston’s Fort Hill Bridge, the state’s busiest.
The announcement comes amid a national push to rebuild bridges in rural America. In April, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced $407.7 million to repair or replace 119 bridges across 12 states through its Competitive Highway Bridge Program. West Virginia is set to receive $65 million of that funding for the West Kanawha County Bridge Bundle Project, which includes the Dunbar Toll Bridge and the Kanawha Turnpike Interstate 64 overpass, according to the federal agency.
Morrisey directed state Department of Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh to conduct the statewide review to identify future maintenance needs and prioritize long-term investments, according to the governor’s office.
“We’re not waiting for problems to find us,” Morrisey said.
Bridges Among State’s Biggest Infrastructure Needs
The review comes months after the West Virginia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state’s bridges a D+ in its 2025 infrastructure report card, released in December. ASCE reported that about 19% of West Virginia’s bridges are rated in poor condition, compared with roughly 7% nationally, and estimated the state’s bridge funding gap at $400 million.
While the state’s bridges remain safe to drive on, ASCE said, the backlog represents a significant need.
Fort Hill Bridge Rehabilitation
The Department of Transportation awarded the $74.5 million contract to Triton Construction, a West Virginia-based firm, for what the governor’s office described as a once-in-a-generation rehabilitation of the Eugene A. Carter Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Fort Hill Bridge. The bridge carries approximately 100,000 vehicles each day along the Interstate 64 corridor through Charleston, making it the busiest in the state.
The project includes complete replacement of the bridge deck and barrier walls on the main span and four access ramps, structural steel repairs to the bridge’s arch and restoration of its concrete piers.
Preliminary work, including construction of median crossovers, is scheduled to begin this fall during off-peak and nighttime hours to avoid traffic disruptions during the winter holiday shopping season. Major traffic shifts are expected to begin in early 2027.
