Federal Highway Administration Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Point Pleasant’s Silver Bridge Disaster In 1967 Improved Bridge Safety

The Silver Bridge collapse, on the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, killed 46 people. After it, the Federal Highway Administration began using National Bridge Inspection Standards.

The collapse of a highway bridge in Baltimore Harbor may remind some West Virginians of a tragedy that changed how bridges nationwide are inspected.

Before the Silver Bridge failed on the evening of Dec. 15, 1967, there was no national standard for bridge inspection.

The Silver Bridge collapse, on the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, killed 46 people. In 1971, the Federal Highway Administration began using National Bridge Inspection Standards.

They required the inspection of bridges and their components at least once every two years, with emphasis on fractures, corrosion and fatigue – all of which played a part in the Silver Bridge’s failure.

Stan Bumgardner, a state historian and editor of the West Virginia Encyclopedia, says technology today could have spotted the hidden flaw in the Silver Bridge. It couldn’t then.

“Now, today, they have, you know, techniques where you can get cameras, and you can see places where you couldn’t have seen in 1967. But in 1967 nobody really ever faulted the bridge inspectors for missing anything, just because it wasn’t part of the routine to check for that. And it would have been virtually impossible, they would have had to have been looking for. a needle in a haystack and knowing where the needle was, and still trying to find it.”

Bumgardner says he’s spoken to people in the community who not only remember that day, but remember the people who were killed. Some were classmates or members of the same church. Some were neighbors. One man lost both his parents.

He says the memory is so strong, decades later, that incidents like the one in Baltimore remind people of it.

“I’m sure for people in Point Pleasant who remember, December the 15th 1967, that anytime there’s any of these bridge incidents, collapses, problems with where they have to shut down bridges, even where they’re even no deaths involved. I’m sure it takes all those people in Point Pleasant back to 1967. And they remember exactly where they were and how they felt right then.”

As with the Silver Bridge then, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Baltimore collapse now. It could take the agency as long as two years to produce a report.

And from there, changes will be made to improve bridge safety from the lessons learned.

Public Can Comment On Corridor H Parsons To Davis Until March 27

The Federal Highway Administration intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the nine-mile section of the corridor.

The public has a week left to comment on a controversial segment of Corridor H.

The Federal Highway Administration is accepting comment on the Parsons to Davis portion of the long-planned highway until March 27.

The agency intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the nine-mile section of the corridor.

The West Virginia Division of Highways prefers a southern route, while some residents and community groups favor a northern route they say would have less environmental impact.

Most of the 130-mile road is complete. About seven miles of the road from Wardensville to the Virginia state line is set to begin construction this year.

The corridor is one of the biggest economic development priorities for the state’s elected leaders. It’s a piece of the Appalachian Development Highway System, created in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty.

A budget bill Congress approved earlier this month includes $12.5 million to help complete the portion of Corridor H east of Wardensville.

Comment on the project here.

Manchin, Capito Seek To Overturn Biden Vehicle Emissions Rule

The rule, made final in November, requires state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to set declining emissions targets.

West Virginia’s U.S. Senators are pushing back on the Biden administration’s effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.

Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito have co-sponsored a resolution to overturn a Federal Highway Administration rule on emissions targets.

The rule, made final in November, requires state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to set declining emissions targets.

Both Capito and Manchin argue the agency lacks the authority from Congress to issue such a requirement.

The rule itself, though, does not specify how low the targets have to be, as long as they’re declining, and does not impose penalties on states for not meeting them.

The House of Representatives has a similar bill to overturn the rule.

Grants for 54 State Trails, Sidewalks, Streetscapes

West Virginia officials say federal funds have been awarded for 54 community and infrastructure projects statewide for $7 million.They include $1.16…

West Virginia officials say federal funds have been awarded for 54 community and infrastructure projects statewide for $7 million.

They include $1.16 million for 14 recreational trails and $5.9 million to support 40 transportation alternatives and other projects.

Funds are from the Federal Highway Administration.

According to the governor’s office, Morgantown will get $400,000 for a multi-use path along Route 705.

Bridgeport will get $560,000 for a Route 58 Walking Trail.

Madison will get $401,000 for the first phase of a Madison State Street Streetscape project.

Other awards include $150,000 to Friends of the Cheat for the first phase of design and construction for the Cheat River Rail Trail.

The National Coal Heritage Area Authority will get and $125,000 for the Guyandotte Water Trail.

New Report Says W.Va. Rural Roads Among Worst

A new report says West Virginia's rural roads and bridges are among the worst in the nation.The report by transportation research group TRIP says 29…

A new report says West Virginia’s rural roads and bridges are among the worst in the nation.

The report by transportation research group TRIP says 29 percent of major rural roads in West Virginia were in poor condition in 2013. That’s the sixth highest rate in the nation.

West Virginia’s rural traffic fatality rate in 2013 was 2.61 deaths in 2013 for every 100 million vehicle miles of travel, the seventh highest rate in the nation.

The report says 13 percent of West Virginia’s rural bridges were structurally deficient in 2014. That’s the 16th highest rate in the nation.

TRIP says it analyzed the most current data available from sources that include the Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

W.Va. Receives Money to Repair Storm-Damaged Roads

West Virginia will received $5 million in emergency funds from the federal government to fix storm-damaged roads.U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony…

West Virginia will received $5 million in emergency funds from the federal government to fix storm-damaged roads.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the funding Tuesday from the Federal Highway Administration.

Federal transportation officials say the funding will pay for repairs to damaged culverts, pavement and similar work in about 150 locations around the state.

Severe storms in early March triggered flooding, landslides and mudslides and caused significant damage to roads in more than half of the state’s 55 counties. State officials estimate the damage at nearly $15 million.