Navigating Turnpike construction during travel season

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Summer travel season is off and rolling, but for a period of time Saturday morning southbound traffic was at a standstill on the West Virginia Turnpike.

Multiple motorists, including Bob and Kathy Morris of Barboursville, tell WSAZ NewsChannel 3 the slowdown started around the first toll booth in Chelyan.

“It was very frustrating, and we were trying to get in and out of traffic — trying to get the fastest way to get to Winston-Salem,” Bob Morris told WSAZ. “We had left an hour early.”

“Throwing construction into dealing with the toll booths, which slow things down anyway, it was just bad timing, especially for what didn’t appear to be a lot happening,” Kathy Morris added.

The couple say they were stuck in traffic for more than an hour, making them late for a funeral.

A director with the the West Virginia Parkways Authority tells WSAZ an anti-skid project was moved from midweek to pre-dawn Saturday due to weather, but a broom malfunctioned causing crews to sweep road particles by hand and push the project past 7 a.m. Saturday and into summer vacation traffic.

“This was not an event that travelers should expect to occur throughout the summer,” he said.

So WSAZ went for a drive Monday and found three lane closures over a 20-mile stretch. The station found video of one of the slowdowns on a traffic camera, but WSAZ found none of the incidents prompted an alert to the state’s 511 social media account.

WSAZ reached out to Department of Transportation asking why are projects occurring during daytime travel hours, and where can motorists be alerted.

The Department said a weekly construction schedule is on its website, adding that much of the work involves just brief lane closures with hours-long projects and those in high-traffic areas performed at night.

Kathy Morris say notification can be crucial.

“I think especially on our Turnpike, it’s important to know it all the time,” she said. “It’s a more difficult road to travel … so not knowing in advance can leave you in a pretty sticky situation.”

The Parkways Authority also tells WSAZ it has made the decision there will be no make up days for weather moving forward from Friday to Sunday night. The contractor will also be required to have additional equipment on site for any mechanical failure.

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