W.Va. Modernizing Bridge Monitoring 

State and federal transportation leaders met under the East Huntington Bridge Thursday to announce the deployment of structural health monitoring technology on the span across the Ohio River.

Technology, like vibration sensors, crack meters and displacement sensors, will allow the West Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT) to track the condition of bridges in real time.

West Virginia DOT Secretary Todd Rumbaugh said bridges are not just structures, but lifelines that are aging and in need of significant attention.

“Today is not just about sensors or software, it’s about safety,” he said. “It’s about opportunity, and it’s about building a stronger future for West Virginia, one bridge at a time.”

Rumbaugh acknowledged that many bridges in West Virginia are aging and in need of significant attention. Most bridges in the country are inspected on a 24-month cycle. Officials hope structural health monitoring technology can help identify serious issues sooner.

“This technology gives us a clearer picture of what’s happening on our bridges at any given moment,” Rumbaugh said. “It’s a smarter, safer, and more cost-effective way to manage infrastructure and it helps us target our resources where they’re needed most.”

The sensors are funded by the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation, or SMART grant program from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The project is a Stage One grant, and Gov. Patrick Morrisey said successful implementation of the technology could potentially bring up to $15 million in Stage Two SMART grants to expand the sensor network to other high-risk bridges statewide. 

“I recall the stage one approach was about $820,000 or so,” Morrisey said. “I’m not sure exactly how many bridges could get this, but we could be strategic and allot to highly used bridges where there’s a lot of traffic, to make sure we’re prioritizing safety for our citizens, which is certainly important. This is data modernization at its finest.”