West Virginia Turnpike - Modernizing The Turnpike

Modernizing The Turnpike

In the 1960s and 1970s, the growing Interstate Highway System brought in toll-free segments of newly-built Interstate 77 from Ohio to the north, and Virginia to the south ends of the Turnpike. Interstate 64 was completed from the Kentucky border east to Charleston. Work on Interstate 79 extended south from Pennsylvania through Morgantown and Clarksburg to Charleston. Another portion of Interstate 64 was built from Virginia west into the southern portion of the state, ending abruptly at Sam Black Church.

These connections brought more traffic to West Virginia than the 2-lane Turnpike could handle adequately. Congestion at the toll plazas was a major concern, along with the increased fatality rate.

The gap on Interstate 64 between Sam Black Church and Charleston forced east–west traffic to use a scenic but treacherous section of U.S. Highway 60 known as the Midland Trail through Rainelle and Ansted before the road descended Gauley Mountain at Hawk's Nest to the Kanawha River Valley to reach Charleston. There were terrible accidents along this stretch and lengthy delays as trucks negotiated the major grades.