Tag: West Virginia Turnpike

Parkways Board Wants Legislature to Keep Tolls on W.Va. Turnpike

Members of the West Virginia Parkways Authority are supporting the continuation of tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike, doubling down on a resolution to that effect passed in January.

The tolls are set to expire in May of 2019, when the bonds on the road’s construction will be paid off.

In January, the authority approved a resolution asking lawmakers to keep the tolls after 2019. The resolution passed Thursday reminding lawmakers and the general public of that position — asking lawmakers to continue the tolls, which bring in $90 million of new revenue to the state each year.

The authority says that if the tolls are eliminated, the state risks being able to continue to pay for the road’s operation and upkeep and the 360 full and part-time jobs supported by the revenue.

“If tolls are eliminated, the WV Division of Highways will be required to maintain the turnpike, free of tolls, at an annual estimated cost of $60 million per year with no additional federal dollars to replace the loss of toll revenue,” Parkways General Manager Greg Barr said in a written statement Friday.

The Parkways Authority currently receives no state or federal funding to support maintenance or operational costs of the West Virginia Turnpike.

Seventy-six percent of the income made from tolls come from out-of-state residents.

This story was changed on Dec. 12, 2016, to correct the West Virginia Parkways Authority’s previous position on the continuation of tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike.

Inmate Escapes Police Van Along West Virginia Turnpike

Authorities are searching for an inmate who escaped from a police transport van along the West Virginia Turnpike and then allegedly stole a car.

Fayette County Sheriff Steve Kessler says in a news release that 37-year-old Paul Ira Hopkins of Smithers was handcuffed and wearing ankle shackles when he got the van’s door open and jumped over a guardrail Wednesday near the North Beckley Toll Plaza.

Kessler says a transport officer was unable to pursue Hopkins because he was required to secure four other inmates in the van.

The release says police tracked Hopkins to a garage where he allegedly stole a car. He was wearing an orange inmate jumpsuit.

Hopkins was being transported after being sentenced to six months for petit larceny and fleeing from an officer.

Thanksgiving Holiday Traffic up on Turnpike

Traffic on the West Virginia Turnpike rose during the Thanksgiving holiday compared to a year ago.

Media outlets report that traffic along the 88-mile highway for the six-day period ending Sunday increased nearly 5.7 percent compared with the 2014 period. Sunday was the busiest travel day.

West Virginia Parkways Authority chief Greg Barr says the number of toll transactions was nearly 763,000.

State Police Fatally Shoot Ga. Suspect on Interstate

State police say a man wanted in Georgia was fatally shot during a pursuit on the West Virginia Turnpike.

State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous tells media outlets that 28-year-old Brandon Lamar Johnson of Snellville, Georgia, stopped his car during a pursuit Tuesday on Interstate 64-77 in Beckley, got out and pulled a gun on troopers. Baylous says Johnson refused to drop his weapon and was shot.

Johnson was pronounced dead at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley. No troopers were injured.

In Georgia, Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett says Johnson was wanted in Tuesday’s killing of 57-year-old co-worker Pamela Harmon. Her body was found in a store parking lot in Conyers, Georgia.

Labor Day Traffic Up on Turnpike

Holiday travelers kept toll workers on the West Virginia Turnpike busy over the Labor Day weekend.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that toll workers handled about 32,000 more transactions that they did during the same four-day period in 2014. That’s an increase of 7.4 percent.

West Virginia Parkways general manager Greg Barr says the turnpike handled a total of 466,977 toll transactions from Friday through Monday.

The increase in traffic boosted toll revenues by 7.3 percent compared to 2014.

Parkways officials were surprised by the increase. Traffic over the Fourth of July weekend was up about 1 percent from the same period in 2014.

Overall, traffic on the 88-mile toll road is up about 33 percent this year.

Memorial Day Turnpike Traffic Up 5 Percent

The West Virginia Parkways Authority reported turnpike traffic stretching from the Thursday before Memorial Day to the holiday itself was up by just over 5 percent this year.

The increased traffic brought a total of 588, 739 transactions at toll plazas, totaling $1,281,926 toll revenues. That amount is up more than $65,000 from revenues collected over the Memorial Day weekend in 2014.

Overall, Parkways General Manager Greg Barr said during a meeting of the group Thursday traffic on the turnpike is up by more than 4 percent since January.

For the past nine months of toll collections toll revenues are up $3.6 million over state estimates.

Turnpike employees are now preparing for increased traffic over the 4th of July holiday weekend.

A report from the Turnpike Authority says all toll lanes will be manned during heavy traffic periods over the holiday and additional personnel will be placed at each barrier as relief for toll collectors. 

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