Gov. Justice, Secretary Wriston announce completion of I-64 Nitro bridge and widening project, largest Roads to Prosperity

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.