The Christmas and New Year holidays saw record numbers of vehicles utilizing the West Virginia Turnpike, the West Virginia Department of Transportation announced.
During the 12-day period between Dec. 22, 2021, and Jan. 2, 2022, 1,263,779 vehicles went through Turnpike toll booths. The period includes both the Christmas and New Year holidays, which fell on the weekends.
“As always, the West Virginia Turnpike was well prepared for an increase in travel during this 12-day holiday period,” said Jeff Miller, Executive Director of the West Virginia Parkways Authority that oversees Turnpike operations.
We expected a high volume of travel based on the weather forecasts being favorable and the days of the week in which the holidays fell,” Miller said. “Our staff did a fantastic job keeping traffic moving through the toll barriers and I give credit to each department for their planning to make travel on the West Virginia Turnpike as safe and efficient as possible during this busy time of year.”
Holiday traffic on the Turnpike was up 27.34 percent compared to 2020, when 992,419 vehicles went through Turnpike toll booths Traffic was also up 7.7 percent compared with the 2019 holiday season, when 1,173,380 vehicles went through the toll booths during the same period.
Miller said the traffic counts set a record on the Turnpike.