West Virginia
Report: Morgantown's roads are the worst in West Virginia – Dominion Post
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.
BUCKHANNON, W.Va (WDTV) – WestCare West Virginia cut the ribbon for its Hope in the Mountains complex on 22 N. Locust Street. The new facility will treat men with substance abuse issues with the hopes of fighting the drug epidemic in West Virginia.
Each room in the complex includes 56 beds, a television set and clean bathroom. Stephen Wright spoke ahead of the ribbon cutting along with Buckhannon officials. He said this facility differs from others on how they approach treatment.
“We really focus on the individual and the individual needs and focus on their progress in the program versus a number of days that a person is in treatment. So it’s really individualized,” said Stephen Wright, chief operating officer of WestCare Appalachia. “So we still need aftercare, outpatient counseling, and those things. But this really gives an opportunity for an intervention to break that cycle for individuals struggling with addiction. Because lots of times they must be separated from the living circumstances that they’re in at that time.”
Copyright 2026 WDTV. All rights reserved.
A federal appeals court agreed to rehear West Virginia’s request to lift an injunction barring enforcement of state restrictions against drugmakers seeking to limit discounts to pharmacies under a federal program.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted Thursday West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey’s request to rehear en banc arguments over a preliminary injunction. All active judges in the court will review the case after a three-judge panel in March ruled to keep the state’s SB 325 temporarily blocked while litigation plays out over the law.
The court said the case is scheduled for oral argument …
West Virginia
Heavy rain, flooding affect multiple north-central West Virginia counties – WV MetroNews
BARBOUR COUNTY, W.Va. –Rainy conditions in the Mountain State are expected to subside after six days of continuous rainfall across West Virginia.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch and a flood watch for most of the state as rain continued moving across the region.
NWS Meteorologist Tom Mazza said north-central West Virginia counties—including Wirt, Calhoun, Lewis, and Barbour—were hit hardest by rain showers throughout the day.
“That whole stretch just south of Clarksburg, Clarksburg got a little flooding too, but that area did get hit with the flooding, along with tree damage, so severe thunderstorms there as well,” Mazza said.
In Jane Lew, located in Lewis County, West Virginia, the town hall posted on Facebook that the town park will be closed due to flooding. Officials said it will remain closed until they can assess the damage caused by the flooding.
In Harrison County, the town of Lost Creek also experienced heavy rain and flooding.
Barbour County Emergency Manager Corey Brandon said they received several rounds of heavy rain throughout the day Wednesday.
He said this caused flooding in areas that typically experience flooding during heavy rain events.
“Which resulted in a lot of water getting out of the ditch line, and also our streams and creeks getting out of their ditch lines and causing a lot of problems for a lot of low-lying areas,” Brandon said.
He said they saw a lot of rain in the Clemtown, Moatsville, and Nestorville areas, which they hadn’t seen since 2018.
Brandon said they also had to relocate an elderly woman because rising water was nearly blocking the only access road to her home.
“She had some mobility issues, so the fire department requested that we get her out of the house just in case something were to happen overnight and weren’t able to get to her after that point,” he said.
Brandon said emergency services and the Philippi Fire Department were able to reach her and relocate her to a hotel until the water recedes.
He said that while crews were assisting the woman at her home, areas they typically monitor were beginning to recede.
Brandon said officials are now monitoring local rivers to ensure they do not rise out of their banks.
“Now were anxiously awaiting for the streams and creeks to subside and now we’ll be watching the local rivers to make sure that they stay in their banks as well,” he said.
said that after the rain seen since last Thursday, the region should experience a brief dry spell.
“Leftover showers in the morning (Thursday), clouds and fog, with a gradual clearing during the day Thursday, then it looks like we have several days of nice weather, seasonal spring weather to allow us to dry out,” he said.
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