MORGANTOWN — The road conditions in Morgantown are worse than anywhere else in West Virginia.
It’s a refrain heard time and again around these parts from frustrated, pot-hole dazed drivers.
It also happens to be accurate according to the most recent data from national transportation research nonprofit TRIP.
In Keeping West Virginia Moving Forward: Progress & Challenges in Achieving a 21st Century Transportation System, TRIP reports that 29% of Morgantown’s major roads are in “poor” condition – by far the highest percentage in any of the state’s urban areas.
By way of comparison, 4% of Beckley’s roads are considered poor.
In fact, the percentage of bad roads in Beckley, Huntington, Parkersburg and Wheeling ranges from 4-10%. Charleston sits at 11%.
Weirton-Steubenville has the second highest percentage of poor roads, at 18%.
Morgantown also has the highest percentage of “mediocre” roads, at 22%; the lowest percentage of “fair” roads at 13%; and far and away the lowest percentage of “good” roads, at 36%.
The average percentage of good roads in the six other urban areas is 58%, topped by Beckley at 69%.
So, what does this mean for Morgantown’s drivers?
Money.
TRIP notes, “The HDM study found that road deterioration increases ownership, repair, fuel and tire costs. The report found that deteriorated roads accelerate the pace of depreciation of vehicles and the need for repairs because the stress on the vehicle increases in proportion to the level of roughness of the pavement surface.”
According to the data, busted roads cost Morgantown drivers an average of $875 each year, which is $250 more than what they cost drivers in Weirton-Steubenville – the urban area with the second highest annual cost, at $625 – and more than three times what they cost drivers in Beckley ($272).
West Virginia Secretary of Transportation Todd Rumbaugh was among the speakers Tuesday morning during a virtual news conference organized by TRIP.
He said the state is looking to improve road conditions despite facing declining funding levels in a post-Roads to Prosperity atmosphere.
Rumbaugh explained the $1.6 billion bond program approved under Gov. Jim Justice made a lot of projects possible but represented a drop in the bucket in terms of overall need.
Further, as available funding decreases, the funding that remains is becoming less effective.
The Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index, which measures labor and materials cost, increased by 45% from the beginning of 2022 through the second quarter of 2024.
“We are looking to reorganize and restructure with the guidance of Governor Morrissey. We’re going to get much more efficient. We’re going to improve our roadways,” Rumbaurgh said, later adding, “We do have some areas that we realize that we need to do some work based on congestion. A few areas of the state are growing and that’s a great thing, but it does create a congestion problem and we realize we need to work in those areas also to get ahead of the game where we can.”
While Morgantown is one of the state’s handful of growth areas, it’s pretty much middle-of-the-road in terms of traffic.
Morgantown drivers lose 16 hours annually to congestion, which is on par with Beckley (15) and Huntington (15) but less than Weirton-Steubenville (21), Charleston (26) and Wheeling (39).
As the majority of “major” roads in the greater Morgantown area are maintained by the state, The Dominion Post reached out to the West Virginia Division of Highways regarding TRIP’s findings. The DOH did not respond in time for this report.
