Stephen T. Rumbaugh, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Transportation and commissioner of the Division of Highways, celebrates, on Thursday, July 16, 2026, the awarding of a $74.5 million construction contract to renovate and repair the Fort Hill Bridge (background) which takes Interstate 64 over the Kanawha River in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
Stephen T. Rumbaugh, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Transportation and commissioner of the Division of Highways, celebrates, on Thursday, July 16, 2026, the awarding of a $74.5 million construction contract to renovate and repair the Fort Hill Bridge (background) which takes Interstate 64 over the Kanawha River in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
On Thursday, state officials touted the beginning of a $74.5 million bridge renovation project in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, which is mostly to be paid for with federal highway funds.
And just in time, as the state's bridge rating with the feds shows nearly 18% of West Virginia's bridges are in poor condition.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Department of Transportation Secretary Stephen T. Rumbaugh and others sat in chairs on a black wooden platform at Magic Island in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä in 86-degree heat and 65% humidity as about 50 people — including some wearing hardhats and safety vests — listened to them celebrate the beginning of the renovation and reconstruction of the "single-most heavily traveled bridge in our entire state," according to Rumbaugh.
Behind them, some of the 100,000 vehicles that cross the Fort Hill Bridge daily rolled by.
In late June, the state Department of Transportation awarded the construction contract to St. Albans-based Triton Construction for the renovation of the 51-year-old bridge — officially named the Eugene A. Carter Memorial Bridge — which carries Interstate 64 over the Kanawha River in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Of the total $74.5 million price tag, only 10% is to be paid by the state.
The Fort Hill Bridge renovation project will include:
A new bridge deck
New barrier walls
Repair of structural steel
Restoration of concrete piers under the bridge
Preliminary work, including construction of median crossovers, will begin this fall using off-peak and nighttime hours to avoid traffic disruptions during the winter holiday shopping season. Major traffic shifts are expected to begin in early 2027.
Up-to-date details about the project and its anticipated construction schedule are available at the project’s website at i64forthillbridge.com.
50 bridges in Kanawha Valley to be repaired
But the Fort Hill Bridge isn't the only big project in the state's sights.
In April, the West Virginia Department of Transportation released details on a plan to repair or replace 50 bridges in the Kanawha Valley over the next five years. About a dozen of those bridges will be repaired during this summer's construction season.
At Thursday's event, Rumbaugh focused his remarks on how his department wants to improve West Virginia's low federal ratings for its bridges.
"We continuously inspect the bridges at least every two years," he said. "Some of them every year, and some of them even more frequent than that, depending on the condition. We have to make sure things are safe for the public."
Rumbaugh said fixing bridges is a work in progress.
"We were probably 49th in the country with one of the highest amount of poor bridges in the country," Rumbaugh said. "Our object is to get below the federal highways mandates — or doesn't mandate, but asks — that you be below 10% of your bridges being poor condition."
West Virginia's 17.8% share of bridges in poor condition dwarfed those in bordering states Virginia (3.4%), Maryland (4.4%), Ohio (4.7%), Kentucky (7.5%) and Pennsylvania (12.1%).
According to the FHWA, a poor-condition bridge is one that has any component (deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert) in poor or worse condition in accordance with a national standard of measurements.
Dunbar Toll Bridge and Patrick Street Bridge
The Dunbar Toll Bridge and the Patrick Street bridge are also due for renovation.
The $65 million in federal funds allocated for those bridges is part of a grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation funded specifically for those two bridges. Those projects are scheduled to begin in the spring of 2028 and be complete by late 2029.
Rumbaugh said the Dunbar Toll Bridge will be the first under construction.
"Dunbar is under design. They are trying to do the utility relocations on it. Once those are done, things will pick up a lot faster."
The Patrick Street Bridge was built in 1930. It was last inspected in August 2025 and rated in poor condition in accordance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards, according to WVDOT spokesman Rusty Marks. The bridge was not listed in poor condition due to any deterioration in the structure itself, but because the approaches do not meet modern standards.
The bridge remains on a 12-month inspection interval and will undergo its next bridge safety inspection in August. An engineering design study is currently underway to investigate bridge replacement options.
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Christopher Millette is the editor of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail. He can be reached at 304-348-5124 or cmillette@hdmediallc.com. Follow him on X: @cmillette.
