- West Virginia Turnpike Reopens Toll Plaza After Heavy Rains, Flooding
- Oklahoma Will Supply Free Fentanyl Test Strips And Naloxone At Select Turnpike Travel Centers
- West Virginia Turnpike Has Evolved Since Construction Began 71 Years Ago
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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West Virginia Turnpike Reopens Toll Plaza After Heavy Rains, Flooding
A West Virginia Turnpike toll plaza in Sharon was reopened yesterday morning after heavy rains caused widespread flooding in Kanawha County, WOWK reports. Both the entrance and exit ramps at the turnpike interchange had been closed earlier in the morning, in the wake of flash flooding that rendered many roads impassable. Even after the toll plaza was reopened, a mudslide was seen blocking one lane of traffic.
The New York Times reports more extensively on the unanticipated flash flooding that occurred in the area. Three to six inches of rain fell near Charleston, the state capital, in just five hours — and upwards of eight inches in isolated areas. “‘This came from nowhere. We had almost no warning whatsoever, which is very unusual,’ Kent Carper, president of the Kanawha County Commission, said.”
Related reporting from WTAP focuses on the state of emergency declared by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice in response to significant damage to homes, bridges and roads in Kanawha, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, and Roane counties.
Climate Change & Infrastructure Resilience Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) West Virginia West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)Oklahoma Will Supply Free Fentanyl Test Strips And Naloxone At Select Turnpike Travel Centers
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) have partnered to help combat the ongoing opioid crisis by agreeing to stock free fentanyl test strips and naloxone in distinctive vending machines that will be placed in seven bust travel centers, KOKH reports. Statewide, ODMHSAS has a plan to install 40 of the machines at locations in ZIP code zones where overdose rates are proportionally high. OTA has also added Narcan and fentanyl test strips to the first aid kits in more than 350 maintenance and construction vehicles.
For more information, see the ODMHSAS press release announcing the initiative, and the complete list of locations where vending machines are being placed.
TRN notes that the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission (OTIC) announced in May that it has made emergency stocks of NARCAN® (naloxone) available at all 14 of its service plazas, and also equipped turnpike foremen and assistant foremen with kits containing the potentially life-saving drug.
Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Oklahoma Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) Public Outreach And Communication Service PlazasWest Virginia Turnpike Has Evolved Since Construction Began 71 Years Ago
The Register-Herald reports that today is the anniversary of the 1952 groundbreaking ceremony that launched construction of the West Virginia Turnpike. The newspaper notes that seventy-one years ago, “most of the turnpike was just two lanes because officials believed revenues would be too low to finance four lanes.”
The West Virginia Encyclopedia has a concise, interesting article on the origin and development of the turnpike.
Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance US Gov't Transportation Funding West Virginia West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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