West Virginians for Better Transportation
2114 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25311
304.345.7623 • fax: 304.343.2788
www.keepwvmoving.org
WEST VIRGINIA TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

With roughly 36,000 miles of public highway mileage, West Virginia is one of only four states (Delaware,
North Carolina, and Virginia are the others) in which there is no county and/or township ownership of
highways.

As a result of the WVDOH having statutory authority of nearly all public highway miles, the WVDOH is
responsible for the sixth-largest state maintained highway network in the nation.

Driving on rough roads costs West Virginia motorists a total of $400 million annually in extra vehicle
operating costs. Costs include accelerated vehicle depreciation, unexpected expense repair costs, greater
tire wear -- not to mention blown tires, damaged wheel rims, new brakes, worn out shocks, front-end
alignments, increase fuel consumption…and aggravation.

Driving on rough roads costs the average West Virginia motorist $333 annually.

Many drivers are paying less in total gasoline taxes today than 10 or 20 years ago due to driving cars with
much higher MPG capabilities…using fewer gallons of gasoline.

An average driver in West Virginia uses 853 gallons of fuel (15,786 miles @18.5 miles per gallon). Each
driver pays about $283 in state fuel taxes annually (853 gallons x 0.33.2 cents/gallon), or 77 cents a day.

Area Development magazine (2011) says good transportation (improved access, reduced transport costs
and improved, safe highway accessibility) was ranked as the number one site selection factor.

Every year, $49 billion in goods are shipped from sites in West Virginia and another $54 billion in goods are
shipped to sites in West Virginia, mostly by trucks.

West Virginia has the second highest highway fatality rates in the nation due to poor roads.

The fatality rate on West Virginia’s non-interstate rural roads is more than double the rate on all other roads
in the state (2.54 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel vs. 1.19).
ROADS

West Virginia’s thousands of miles of secondary roads are facing more and more challenges each year.
Road repairs are getting problematic, and the state’s paving program is struggling to keep
up. Maintenance is being plagued by many years of stagnant funding.

The state’s roads also are plagued by road slips and rock slides, due to the state’s mountainous terrain.
Drivers on some mountainous roads must face one-lane stretches as funding needs continue to mount.

More than one-third (36 percent) of West Virginia’s major roads are either in poor or mediocre condition.
Twelve percent (12%) of the state’s pavements are in poor condition while twenty-four percent (24%) are
rated in mediocre condition.

West Virginia leads the country in percentage of narrow lanes - 67 percent of its major roads are less than
10 feet wide.

As roads and highways continue to age, they will reach a point of deterioration where routine paving and
maintenance will not be adequate to keep pavement surfaces in good condition. Costly reconstruction of
the roadway and its underlying surfaces will become necessary.

Travel on state roads is expected to increase 37 percent to 26 billion miles by 2025.
BRIDGES

A recently released annual review of state bridges now ranks West Virginia eighth worst in the nation with
15.1 percent, or 1,092 structurally deficient bridges. In 2013, the state ranked 14th in the country. In 2014, it
ranked 12th.

In West Virginia, a total of 35 percent of the state’s 7,000 vehicular bridges are in need of repair,
improvement or replacement. Thirteen percent (13%) of West Virginia’s bridges are structurally deficient.
Twenty-two percent (22%) of West Virginia’s bridges are functionally obsolete.

The average age of West Virginia’s Interstate bridges is nearly 40 years. Older bridges typically need
significant repairs, reconstruction or replacement at approximately 50 years.
INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS
The Infrastructure Committee of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways is recommending the
following to meet the state’s needs over the next 20-25 years:

An additional $750 million a year is necessary just to preserve and improve the state’s existing roads,
bridges and highways.

An additional $380 million is needed a year to fund key construction or expansion projects, for a total of
$1.13 billion annually.
FUNDING CHALLENGES
West Virginia, like many other states, is faced with a growing challenge of keeping up with the maintenance
and construction needs of its roads, highways and bridges. Over time the increased fuel efficiency of vehicles,
combined with ever-increasing commodity prices, pose severe challenges on how existing fuel tax revenues
will be able to sustain the state’s Road Fund.

The paving cycle of state roads and highways is worsening – to nearly a 30-year cycle (12 year cycle is
ideal).

The State Road Fund’s purchasing power, when adjusted for inflation, continues to decrease. In FY1999
revenues were $1.9 billion in constant 2012 dollars compared to $1.2 billion in FY2012.

Overall, the impact from inflation over the past years has resulted in a decline of nearly one-third in the real
value of total dedicated tax revenues in the State Road Fund.