BECKLEY, W.Va. — Work to reconstruct the Travel Plazas on the West Virginia Turnpike is moving along. Parkways Authority Executive Director Jeff Miller took time last week to give an update on the progress of the construction.
“I know you’ve been driving by these for going on two years and wondering where we are. I’m happy to announce the progress on these is going very well,” Miller told Gov. Jim Justice and others gathered for a press conference near the construction site.
Miller, Justice, and Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston announced the project in 2017 to rebuild the plazas with a modernized look. Miller said he believed the design would be something people will very much appreciate with a tip of the hat to the original look of those plazas called “the glass houses.”
“The glass houses of the 50s and 60s meant a lot to this area. When we had the opportunity to redesign these we took a hard look at what would people want and came up with a beautiful design. It’s something that meets today’s modern standards, but is a bit of a throwback to what the West Virginia Turnpike had at on point,” said Miller.
He anticipated completion of the projects before year’s end.
“We hope by the end of this year, Governor Justice will be cutting the ribbons as the Governor and not the U.S. Senator. We hope to get them done before then,” he added.
Justice congratulated Miller and his team for the work.
Demolition of the old travel plaza buildings began in the spring of 2023. Paramount Builders, a St. Albans-based contractor, is being paid $122.8 million to rebuild the facilities. Work is anticipated to begin on the Morton Travel Plaza in Kanawha County next spring.
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