Repair work on busiest bridge in West Virginia to happen in phases to “minimize disruptions”

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Traffic in the Capital City will soon have to adjust as the busiest bridge in West Virginia draws closer to undergoing a rehabilitation project.

The West Virginia Division of Highways recently awarded a $74.5 million contract for the rehabilitation of the Eugene A. Carter Bridge to Triton Construction. The bridge, also known as the Fort Hill Bridge, is located in the Capital City and carries Interstate-64 over the Kanawha River.

Around 100,000 vehicles travel across the bridge each day.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey joined state and local officials Thursday at Magic Island to officially announce the contract awarding. DOH officials have told MetroNews that crews will build two median crossovers this August, with the majority of that construction taking place at night and on weekends to minimize its impact on traffic. Official repair work is expected to begin in early 2027, with an anticipated conclusion next December.

DOH officials said everything should be “back to normal” by Spring 2028 under the current timeline.

Del. J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, was on hand for the news conference. He emphasized that motorists will have to be flexible with their routes.

“We’ll have a little bit of an inconvenience while that’s going on,” Akers said. “This is going to be a huge project that impacts traffic from all over the East Coast, really.”

Issues have popped up at the Carter Bridge in recent years. The state DOH made emergency repairs to fix potholes that had popped up last summer, causing traffic delays. Triton Construction also repaired concrete, installed a waterproof membrane, and added a 2-inch layer of asphalt last October.

Minimizing the impact on motorists during this project has been a top priority, according to state Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh.

“Our team at the Department of Transportation has worked tirelessly to phase this construction, so we minimize the disruptions on your daily commute and your businesses,” Rumbaugh said.

DOH officials said crews will work on one side of the bridge first, then crews will shift traffic and begin work on the other side. Motorists can stay up to date on the project by visiting the Division of Highways website to see the anticipated construction schedule.

Akers commended Morrisey and Rumbaugh for taking action now.

“For doing the hard thing, on a project like this, which is a maintenance and repair project,” Akers said. “They’re not kicking the can down the road for some other administration to deal with. They’re dealing with a major issue, right now, and this will be a generational project for this bridge. It’s going to prevent us from having to deal with this in the future.”

The governor mentioned the state had previously been given poor grades by national surveys on bridge safety. He said his administration is committed to improving bridges all across the state, starting with the heavily trafficked bridge in Charleston.

“This is a signal that we take bridge repair work very seriously,” Morrisey said. “When we inherit being an ‘F’ in bridges, I do not want that to be the case. We need safe bridges for our people, and I’m going to keep working every day to make sure that happens.”

Morrisey said in his year and a half as governor, the administration has been focused on “getting back to the fundamentals.”

“Site-selection and remediation, speed to build; cutting red tape faster, that’s what’s why I’m so excited about our one-stop shop permitting. (That’s) going to make things go even faster, and responsibly.”

Those efforts have been paying off, Morrisey said.

“When you have that kind of economic growth, that level of construction, it’s particularly important to make sure that your infrastructure is strong,” Morrisey said. “That’s really why we’re here today.”

Rumbaugh said the investment signals a commitment to the future of the Mountain State and its travelers.

“This rehab project represents a once-in-a-generation investment in our economic corridor,” Rumbaugh said. “It’s about much more than concrete, structural steels, and orange barrels. It’s about safety, reliability, and planning for the next 50 years.”