The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is the

state agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government The machinery of government (sometimes abbreviated as MoG) is the interconnected structures and proc ...

responsible for transportation in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The Department of Transportation serves an umbrella organization for seven subsidiary agencies which are directly responsible for different areas of the state's infrastructure.

Subsidiary agencies

Division of Highways

The West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) is the largest component of the Department of Transportation. It is responsible for almost all public roads in the state outside of incorporated municipalities. The Division of Highways was previously its own standalone agency, the Department of Highways, and was known as the State Road Commission until about the 1970s.

Division of Motor Vehicles

The West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) handles vehicle registration and driver licensing for the state. In addition to its headquarters in Charleston, it operates a network of 23 regional offices throughout West Virginia.

West Virginia Parkways Authority

The West Virginia Parkways Authority was created in 1989e-WV , West Virginia Turnpike
Wvencyclopedia.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-24. as a successor to the West Virginia Turnpike Commission. The agency is tasked with operating the

West Virginia Turnpike West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, an tolled stretch of

Interstate 77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

from Charleston to

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

. It was involved in the planned operation of a toll

U.S. Route 35 U.S. Route 35 (US 35) is a United States Highway that runs southeast-northwest for approximately from the western suburbs of Charleston, West Virginia to northern Indiana. Although the highway is physically southeast-northwest, it is nomi ...

in Mason and Putnam counties and the Mon-Fayette Expressway, however WV 43 was opened as a freeway and a possible toll US 35 completion was rejected by the Legislature in 2012. The Parkways Authority used to be named the Parkways, Economic Development, and Tourism Authority. It participated in economic development programs, an activity that was curtailed under former governor

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor of ...

. It continues to operate

Tamarack, Best of West Virginia Tamarack Marketplace is a tourist attraction in Beckley, West Virginia, Beckley, West Virginia that is run as an economic development project of the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority. It sells West Virginia cra ...

, an arts and crafts center near Beckley, pending its transfer to the

West Virginia Department of Commerce West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

State Rail Authority

The State Rail Authority was formed to assume ownership of rail lines that were planned for abandonment by their original operators. It directly operates the

South Branch Valley Railroad The South Branch Valley Railroad is a railroad in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The branch line, which parallels the South Branch Potomac River, runs north from Petersburg to Green Spring, where it connects to the national rail netw ...

, a former

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

line between Green Spring and Petersburg. The authority also owns the

West Virginia Central Railroad The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad is a heritage and freight railroad in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It operates the West Virginia State Rail Authority-owned Durbin Railroad and West Virginia Central Railroad , as well as ...

, consisting of near Elkins. The West Virginia Central is operated by a private company, the

Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad is a heritage and freight railroad in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. It operates the West Virginia State Rail Authority-owned Durbin Railroad and West Virginia Central Railroad , as well as ...

. Other State Rail Authority duties include promoting tourist and short-line railroads, operating three

MARC Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

train stations in the

Eastern Panhandle The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia; the other is the Northern Panhandle. It is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Some sources a ...

, and helping to preserve or

railbank Railbanking is the act of preserving railroad Right-of-way (transportation), rights-of-way for possible future use. Railbanking leaves the rail corridor, railbed, bridges or bridge right-of-way, and other infrastructure intact. This relieves the r ...

lines targeted for abandonment.

Division of Public Transit

The West Virginia Division of Public Transit helps assist

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

agencies in the state.

Public Port Authority

The Public Port Authority helps to develop and market ports and intermodal facilities in the state.

Aeronautics Commission

The West Virginia Aeronautics Commission helps to develop and fund air infrastructure projects in West Virginia.

References

{{authority control State departments of transportation of the United States State agencies of West Virginia