Who retains mineral rights beneath roads and highways in West Virginia?

The correct answer is that original owners retain mineral rights beneath roads and highways in West Virginia. This principle stems from property laws that typically allow the original owners to maintain their rights to the minerals underneath their land, even after selling or transferring surface rights.

In West Virginia, like in many other states, unless explicitly stated otherwise in a deed or legal document during the sale of the property, the mineral rights often remain with the original owner. This means that if the land was sold to the state for the purpose of building a road or highway, the original owners would still retain rights to any minerals found beneath that land unless those rights were surrendered during the sale.

Understanding this concept is vital, as it illustrates the distinction between surface rights and mineral rights in property law, a significant aspect of real estate and land use in West Virginia.