NITRO, W.Va. (WVDN) — Gov. Jim Justice, alongside Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, announced today the grand opening of the Nitro-St. Albans bridge project, the largest Roads to Prosperity investment in state history.
This transformative $254 million project eliminates a significant bottleneck on Interstate 64, paving the way for smoother travel and enhanced safety for drivers.
“Today’s celebration nearly brings me to tears because what we’ve accomplished is truly unbelievable,” Gov. Justice said. “When we first set out on the Roads to Prosperity journey, many thought it would never work. Now, here we are today. We have run through the finish line on the largest Roads to Prosperity project in state history. A project of this magnitude would not have been possible a few years ago, but we all believed in the vision and pulled the rope together. West Virginia’s rocketship ride is soaring like never before.”
The replacement of the former Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge over the Kanawha River with two new bridges, plus the six-lane upgrade of I-64 from Nitro to the US 35 exit allows traffic to now flow smoothly and efficiently through what was once a major choke point on the road between Charleston and Huntington on one of the most heavily traveled sections of interstate in West Virginia.
When Mountain State voters approved a massive bond sale to fund Roads to Prosperity in 2017, the six-lane upgrade of I-64 and bridge replacement project was one of the first projects on the drawing board. Gov. Justice announced the award of a contract to Brayman-Tumble, a joint venture, in 2019.
Work on the project, which would eventually cost approximately $254 million, began not long after. To replace the aging, four-lane Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge, contractors first built a new bridge alongside the existing structure, then tore down the old bridge to build a new structure on the existing piers.
“This project has become the centerpiece of the Roads to Prosperity program, and this doesn’t get across the finish line without Governor Justice’s bold vision for better infrastructure in West Virginia,” Secretary Wriston said. “We’ve finally returned to our roots as an agency, and in the blink of an eye, we’ve started or finished over 1,300 Roads to Prosperity projects with just a handful of the original ones left to start. We’ve been able to cut ribbons like crazy, and again, it’s because of the outstanding leadership we’ve seen under the greatest Governor the State of West Virginia has ever had. Thank you, Governor.”
The new Nitro WW I Memorial Bridge opened in October 2022. Both eastbound and westbound traffic on I-64 was diverted onto the new bridge so the Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge could be demolished and rebuilt.
The original Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge, named for a steelworker who fell from the bridge and died during construction, opened to traffic in 1963. The bridge carried approximately 60,000 vehicles a day.
The new Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge opened to traffic during the summer of 2024. The bridge carries eastbound traffic across the Kanawha River, while the Nitro WW I Memorial Bridge carries traffic west.
Both bridges are four lanes wide to allow drivers to travel between the Nitro and St. Albans exits without having to merge into mainline traffic.
