Transportation in West Virginia

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Transportation in West Virginia

1 Roads
2 Airports
3 Railroads
4 Bridges and tunnels
5 Rapid transit
6 Rivers
7 Notes

[edit] Roads

[edit] Interstate highways

Main article: Interstate Highways in West Virginia

[edit] U.S. Highways

Main article: List of U.S. Highways in West Virginia

U.S. Route 460

[edit] West Virginia State Highways

Main articles: List of primary state highways in West Virginia and List of secondary state highways in West Virginia

[edit] Airports

[edit] Railroads

The platform area of the Huntington Amtrak station as seen from the tracks.

While West Virginia was onced criss-crossed with commercial and passenger railroad networks, the decline of the coal and timber industries, coupled with the rise of the automobile, led to a sharp drop in track mileage in the state. Today, many of the former railroad grades are used as trails for hiking and biking throughout the states numerous woodlands.

Today, West Virginia is serviced by an Amtrak line that cuts through the southern portion of the state, including stops in Huntington and Charleston. Commercial railroads still operate in the state, mainly hauling coal to inland ports such as Huntington (the nation's busiest) and Pittsburgh.

[edit] Bridges and tunnels

As a mountainous state, bridges and tunnels play an important role in transportation in West Virginia. Notable bridges and tunnels include:

New River Gorge Bridge -- near Fayetteville, WV
Silver Bridge -- Point Pleasant, WV
Silver Memorial Bridge -- Henderson, WV to Gallipolis, OH
Wheeling Suspension Bridge -- Wheeling, WV
East River Mountain Tunnel -- near Bluefield, WV to near Rocky Gap, VA
Fort Henry Bridge -- Wheeling, WV
Veterans Memorial Bridge -- Weirton, WV to Steubenville, OH

[edit] Rapid transit

Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit

[edit] Rivers

Further information: West Virginia Waterways

Rivers with commercial barge traffic and docks in West Virginia include:^[1]

Ohio
Kanawha (a tributary of the Ohio)
Monongahela (the Mon and the Allegheny Rivers meet to form the Ohio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Little Kanawha (a tributary of the Ohio)
Big Sandy (a tributary of the Ohio)
Elk (a tributary of the Kanawha)
Pocatalico (a tributary of the Kanawha)
Mill Creek (a tributary of the Ohio)

Navigation Lock and Dams in West Virginia^[2] ^[3]

On the Ohio
- New Cumberland Locks and Dam
- Pike Island Locks and Dam
- Hannibal Locks and Dam
- Willow Island Locks and Dam
- Belleville Locks and Dam
- Racine Locks and Dam
- Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam