More parking coming soon for truckers in West Virginia

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) has announced that West Virginia will receive a $24 million grant to improve truck parking throughout the state, including in north central West Virginia.

The grant is set to be used to expand truck capacity at three existing facilities operated by the West Virginia Division of Highways, including I-79 in Monongalia County. According to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), there is currently only one parking spot for every 11 trucks on the road.

“Truckers are left every day with the decision because they’re controlled by hours of service—the amount of time they’re allowed to drive. […] So every day they have to make a decision on whether they shut down early at a safe parking place,” said Lewie Pugh, OOIDA Executive Vice-President. ”So if they quit early, then of course they make less money, or to continue to drive and hope to find a safe place to park and if they don’t then they’re left with the choice to either park at an illegal spot or take chance of getting an hours of service violation by driving farther to find a safer place to park, and no one should be in that position.”

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program.

In a statement, state transportation officials told 12 News the following plans for the three facilities:

• I-81 in Berkeley County: Reconfigure northbound Inwood and Southbound Falling Waters welcome centers.
  • Northbound: expand 20 truck spaces to 55 and 33 car spaces to 55.
  • Southbound: expand 34 truck spaces to 41 and 49 car spaces to 60.
• I-79 in Monongalia County: Replace closed former northbound and southbound Goshen Road weigh stations.
  • Northbound: build 6 new truck parking stalls.
  • Southbound: build 6 new truck parking stalls.
• I-64 in Cabell County: Reconfigure the I-64 eastbound welcome center.
  • Expand 20 truck spaces to 30, move 57 car spaces to a new welcome center that will be built nearby.

Designs for the I-81 project are expected to be complete this year, with designs for the I-79 and I-64 projects expected to be complete in early 2026.

“All these corridors are very heavily trucked, I mean West Virginia is a truck-heavy state […] not only a passer, but you have so many natural resources and industry and stuff within your state, trucks in and out. And for states to stay competitive like West Virginia, they have to have a mindset of increasing truck parking,” Pugh said.

Pugh said the OOIDA has been in meetings with Sen. Capito and hopes she will support the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act that will allocate $755 million in federal funding projects for expanding truck parking spaces nationwide, which West Virginia could stand to get a percentage of as well.