WSAZ Investigates | Increased patrols along I-64 work zone

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Beginning this week, drivers in the area will see a heavier police presence along Interstate 64 in Cabell County.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission Transportation Division will assist in patrolling the area to crack down on speeding.

“Safety is our main priority is to keep and make them safer and decrease crashes and fatalities,” said Capt. Craig Pauley, West Virginia PSC Enforcement Officer.”

Enforcement officers will target the area between mile-marker 15, the 29th Street exit, through a few miles past the Huntington Mall exit (Exit 20).

“I’ve had officers in the area occasionally on a weekly basis, like once a week, but we just started yesterday as a more excessive enforcement,” Pauley said.

Drivers sat for hours Monday in gridlock traffic on I-64 and along U.S. 60 in Cabell County after a tractor-trailer rollover that resulted in a diesel spill.

Work Zone Woes, a WSAZ Investigation, revealed the number of crashes through this stretch as the agency increased patrols.

WSAZ found that Cabell County 911 estimated since Jan. 1, a total of thirty-three (33) crashes in the construction area between the 15-mile marker and the 22-mile marker, nine (9) of those involved tractor-trailers.

WSAZ found that’s 33 crashes reported in 67 days.

“Not really. A lot of it is more pertaining to excessive speeding and inattentive driving and drivers not being aware of the road situations,” Pauley said.

The Public Service Commission has two enforcement officers assigned to that area in the morning and two in the evening hours during rush hour. A spokesperson for the agency said they’re also doing spot patrols throughout the day.

“A lot of it is visibility,” Pauley said. “When commercial vehicles see us out there, they’re going to slow down and do the proper speed.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration encourages an increased focus on safety in work zones.

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