West Virginia Turnpike Travel Plazas To Be Updated

The West Virginia Parkways Authority will spend $152 million over the next three years to revamp the West Virginia Turnpike’s travel plazas.

In announcing the project on Friday, Parkways Authority Executive Director Jeff Miller said it was past time for the plazas to reflect the changes happening in the state.

“The West Virginia Turnpike in many ways serves as a goodwill ambassador for the state of West Virginia,” he said. “With the boom that West Virginia has experienced as a tourism destination as well as the volume of travel that we experience on an annual basis, the time is now to redevelop these sites.”

Gov. Jim Justice echoed Miller’s comments, emphasizing the number of travelers that interact with the travel plazas.

“3.3 million people, double the population of West Virginia, come through here every year,” he said. “They pull into places that Jeff said are antiquated, they should have been bulldozed years and years ago. We didn’t have the money to do it. If we want to show off and be the frogs that are proud of their own pond, we got to show us off.”

Justice also reminisced about travel plazas being a destination when he was a child, recalling the “Glass House” design of the 1950s.

The Beckley and Bluestone travel plazas will be rebuilt from the ground up starting in February 2023, and are expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The planned renovation of the Morton travel plaza is set for 2025.