Travel alert: Traffic at a standstill after DOH closes I-79 southbound between Morgantown and Fairmont

Traffic on Interstate 79 southbound near Morgantown was at a standstill recently after state officials closed a large section of the road due to a “bridge incident.”

West Virginia 511 reported that I-79 southbound was entirely closed between Exit 146 in Morgantown and Exit 139 in Fairmont. Traffic cameras showed long lines of stationary traffic stretching north beyond the I-68 interchange.

Traffic is being rerouted off the Goshen Road exit and onto Route 73. Anyone traveling south should expect lengthy delays.

The West Virginia Department of Highways released a statement on the closure early Monday afternoon, saying a hole was discovered overnight in a bridge undergoing renovations as part of a $62.5 million project by Titon Construction.

“The West Virginia Division of Highways and contractor Triton Construction Inc. are working together to repair a hole in a bridge deck that closed Interstate 79 South at the Toms Run Road Bridge early Monday, December 9, 2024,” the press release states. “WVDOH District 4 Manager Earl Gaskins said the bridge should reopen within 24 hours.”

Gaskins said the freeze-thaw cycle might have contributed to the failure, and engineers hope quick curing cement will allow one lane of traffic to resume Tuesday. The other lane was already closed due to the construction work.

“The bridge is part of an approximately $62.5 million project to renovate 13 bridges along a 40-mile stretch of I-79 between Lost Creek and Interstate 68 near Morgantown,” the release notes. “The contract was awarded in December 2022. In January 2024, Triton was awarded an additional $45 million contract  to replace three pairs of I-79 bridges near mile marker 136, mile marker 140, and mile marker 160 near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania state line.

“Once complete, the two contracts will replace or renovate all the major bridges on I-79 in north central West Virginia. The bridges date from the 1960s.”