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TThe Highway Plans Locator is an online archival system focused on scanning historical DOT highway plans. As of September 2023, the project had scanned and processed 10,550 highway plan sets ranging in years between 1900 and 2020. The Bridge and Right-of-Way plan categories are completely scanned. Current priorities for scanning are Plans for Construction, which is currently the largest plan type category which accounts for approximately 50% of all plans.

Please contact WV DOT District Offices listing or send email with questions or comments about the data.

Identifying plans

Click on anywhere within WV Boundary on the map to identify any highway plans footprint that covers the clicked location. If you want to make see plan footprints visible, you need go to the Layers panel and check off the "Plan Footprints" layer. Please note, the layer takes a long time to load at a smaller scale level, and will likely bring down the performance of the map viewer. If only one result is returned, the Basic Information panel will show up; if multiple results are returned (ususally applies to a few areas with stacked plans), a popup window with a Plan ID will first be displayed, with arrows to scroll through the results and a link to open up the Basic Information panel.

Info Window:The pop-up info window shows up when you click on the map to identify plans that covers the clicked location. The window header displays the scan ID of currently selected plan, with left / right arrows to switch selected plans and a button to close the info window. This window displays basic information of the selected plan: project key and title, federal and State project IDs, county, lsign system, fiscal year, begin mile, route number and bridge number. In addition, there are two links: one to the non-spatial Highway Plans Locator site, WV Flood Tool, an the other to zoom to the plan extent and display the plan image on the map.

Searching plans

You can search for plans in two different ways: plan attributes and geometry.

Plan Attributes: This search will ask you to specify one or more of the following options: county, sign system, project title, project key, federal project ID, state project ID, route number, bridge number, mile marker and fiscal year. When the criteria are set, click "Search" to start search; Click "Reset" to clear all search criteria currently set and start over.

Geometry: This search will ask you to first select one of the following drawing methods to define your search area: Point, Rectangle and Polygon. Once a drawing method is selected, the user can start drawing the search area by clicking on the map following the instruction that shows up with the mouse. To cancel a drawing session, click on the Eraser button. In addition, you can define a buffer size to your drawing, which is essential if the selected geometry is Point.

Working with results

Plan search results are limited to 1000 records and will be displayed on the Search panel after submitting your search criteria. Each row of the results table will display the scan ID, project key and county of one matching plan. By hovering the mouse onto a row, the selected record will be highlighted on the map; By hovering the mouse out of the row, the highlight effect will be cancelled. By clicking on a row, the map will be automatically zoomed to that selected plan. The plan image will be displayed on the map, and the info window will show up to display its basic information.

If the plan you are looking for can not be found, an empty table will be displayed. Please click "Start Over" and try refining your search.

Using the map

Zooming in:

- Using a mouse: You can zoom into the map by clicking the + (zoom in) button or double-clicking on the map.
- Touch-enabled devices: Zooming in is accomplished by either touching the + (zoom in) button, double-tapping the map, or performing a "pinch open" gesture.

Zooming out:

- Using a mouse: You can zoom out in the map by clicking the - (zoom out) button
- Touch-enabled devices: Zooming is accomplished by touching the - (zoom out) button, or performing a "pinch" gesture.

Full Extent: Clicking the West Virginia button above the zoom buttons on the map will reset the map to its full extent that includes the whole state of West Virginia.

Zooming to your current location: Clicking the "Locate" button below the zoom buttons on the map will zoom the map to your current location. The accuracy of the location depends on the capabilities of the device you are using. Please note: You must have your device's Location Services ON to use this feature. In addition, you also need to give the web browser app (Safari, Chrome, etc.) permission to access your location.

Map layers

Layers: The Layers panel provides the user a list of map layers to turn on/off. The main Highway Plans layer is turned off by default, and it is not recommended to turn it on at a smaller scale level, since it will take a relatively long time to load.
In addition, there are three reference layers available:
- Roads / Streams / Place Names;
- WV DOT Highway Routes;
- USGS Quadrangles Indexes.
Reference layers allows you to adjust its opacity with a slider bar. A Legends swich button is available at the bottom to view legends of visible reference layers.

Basemap: The Basemap panel provides the user a gallery of basemaps to select from. There are a total of 15 different basemaps available, including both vector (streets, topo, etc.) and raster (satellite imagery) formats.
There is also a basemap toggle button available located above the scale bar on the lower left corner of the map. The button aloows the user to easily switch between Streets and Imagery basemaps.

Map tools

The Tools panel provides the user the following map tools:
Print: export the current map extent as a PDF map with customized map title and notes;
Share: generate a shared map link based on map click, map center or selected plan;
Bookmark: create/delete bookmarks of map extents that will be stored in the cookies;
Draw / Measure: choose polygon, line or point to drawing and measuring area, distance and coordinates, with additional options to create buffer and add text label on drawings;
Text Markup: Create text marks with customized text on the map.

In addition, the Clear button on the menu allows you to clear all temporary selections, markers and graphics added to the map.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is providing data files on this website to be used FOR INFORMATION ONLY. These electronic files consist of archived plan sets in a PDF or TIFF format. No representation or warranty is made as to the compatibility of these files beyond the original software format and version or the ability to convert files to other formats or versions, the presence of viruses, or as to the possible erosion, erasure, and/or alteration of the data over time. It is important that all potential users understand that these files are FOR INFORMATION ONLY and are not to be used in lieu of obtaining information by other means as required by other agreements to which the recipient is a party. The original hard copy signed and sealed by a Professional Engineer shall be referred to and shall govern in the event of any inconsistency between the hard copy and these electronic files. Any and all such use by you or others of these files will be at your sole risk and full legal responsibility. All users will, to the fullest extent of the law, indemnify and hold WVDOT, its employees, consultants and agents, harmless from any and all claims, suits, liability, demands or costs arising out of or resulting from such use. The WVDOT does not possess a staff that is available to provide technical support to outside parties who avail themselves of electronic files that are on this website. Some right-of-way plans accessed through the Highway Plans Locator may not be the finalized highway plans. It is recommended that all users contact the appropriate WV DOT District Office for accuracy confirmation.