Morrisey: 'Culture change' coming for WV DOT after prior mismanagement

“We’re getting rid of the bureaucracy. We’re going to put more money in the roads and the bridges,� Morrisey said. “That’s what the people want. That’s what the people deserve.�

According to the Federal Highway Administration, as of 2024, West Virginia holds the second-highest rate of bridges in the nation ranked in “poor� condition. Per an analysis of that data, more than 18% of the state’s bridges are in “poor� condition while 56% are considered to be “fair� and 25% are classified as being in “good� condition.

Between 2020 and 2023, West Virginia had the highest percentage of bridges in poor condition of any state. In 2024 — the most recent year with data on record — Iowa outpaced West Virginia with 19% of its bridges considered to be in poor condition.

Though he cited different data from unnamed sources, Morrisey said Monday he wants to see the state get its rate of bridges in poor condition below 10% by 2028.

Bridge conditions are determined federally by a formula analyzing different components of a bridge, including:

• Paving
• Roadway cracks
• Structural performance
• Average usage
• Reported damage

Bridges that score lower than four with the formula are considered “poor,� those between four and seven are “fair� and bridges scoring higher than a seven are in “good� condition, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Todd Rumbaugh, the state’s transportation secretary, said the condition of the state’s bridges as well as its roads — of which at least one third are considered to be “deteriorated,� according to a report earlier this year — are only going to worsen in coming years.

That’s due to a lack of investment in maintenance, Rumbaugh said. As those needs increase, he continued, so do safety risks for everyone in the communities that rely on them.

“Deferred maintenance does not go away. It gets more expensive, it gets more dangerous over time,� Rumbaugh said. “That’s why we must shift the focus and resources towards preserving what we already have.�

Morrisey: Justice to blame for outsized road infrastructure debts

In what has become a trend for Morrisey over his first six months in office, the new governor said several of the overarching challenges for the state’s transportation infrastructure were spurred by policy decisions he inherited.

Though he didn’t mention him by name, Morrisey’s speech Monday came with several not-so-subtle barbs against his predecessor, former Gov. Jim Justice.

Justice, who now represents the state as a Republican in the U.S. Senate, made West Virginia’s road infrastructure a core tenet during his eight years as governor. From 2017 to 2024, Justice started and oversaw the “Roads to Prosperity� project, which had billions of dollars put into road projects through increased registration fees, taxes and more to pay for general obligation bonds for the projects.

A statement released Tuesday to the Gazette-Mail by Justice's office said:

“West Virginians overwhelmingly supported Sen. Justice’s $2.8 billion investment in the state’s roads, bridges, and interstate system while he served as Governor. It is reassuring to see the current Governor intends to follow in Senator Justice’s footsteps when it comes to practical and transparent use of that allocated money."

The Justice office statement also said:

• The program included projects like a $224 million upgrade to 26 bridges along Interstate 70 in Wheeling and a $254 million project to expand Interstate 64 in Nitro.
• Roads to Prosperity also funded smaller bridge, paving and slide repair projects in every county in the state.

However, Morrisey said on Monday he believes the Roads to Prosperity money was largely misspent and didn’t account for the actual needs of existing infrastructure. It was so bad, he continued, that the federal government told his administration “very early on� that unless the state changed how it managed its highway system, there would be a cut to federal funds.

Federal funds key to state road/bridge projects

Federal funds are crucial for state road and bridge projects.

“Basically, the state was spending so much on some of the new highways without a clear plan for getting them done,� Morrisey said. “A basic look at our financial numbers made it obvious that we can’t even afford a lot of existing highways that were on the books.�

While the bonds purchased by the state for Roads to Prosperity were 30 year bonds, Morrisey said “every little bit� of those funds were allocated in the first seven years they existed.

When he took office in January, Morrisey said he was “alarmed� to learn that the Department of Transportation was “basically out of money.�

“I’m here to tell you that the Roads to Prosperity money — it’s all gone," Morrisey said Monday. "It’s done. It’s not available into the future because it’s effectively committed."

And while the money is gone, debt for those bonds is hanging over the state while numerous projects remain incomplete and other needs are growing. Morrisey said that the state’s highway system is “responsible for $909 in highway debt for every person in the state of West Virginia.� Most other states, he continued, have transportation debts between $500-$600 per a person.

Now, he said, West Virginia will focus on a more “data-driven� approach that balances investments with immediate need. While most of the state’s funds will be going toward much needed infrastructure maintenance and improvements, the state will start to look at partnerships — with localities as well as public private partnerships — to start new roads projects where necessary.

The changes, according to Morrisey, will be large but they represent what he sees as a reflection of his administration’s priorities, especially when compared to Justice’s.

“We’re just not going to let political decisions guide this anymore … Too many of our leaders in the past wanted to kick the can down the road. They want to settle future generations with so much debt,� Morrisey said. “I want to be clear: under our administration, we want to pay our bills on time and not just push them way off into the future to be inherited by a new governor.�