Upshur County/Buckhannon, WV and Corridor H
tollboothrob
time is long past due to start participating in MTR discussions, as I
have only very infrequently in the past. To start, I would like to
give my own opinions on Corridor H, from a local perspective.
I am orginially from, and live in New Jersey, but grew up in Upshur
County, West Virginia, and for a time, directly in the shadow of US
33, just west of Buckhannon. All the ARC highways serve a greatly
needed service to WV residents and travelers alike. Anyone who has
traveled the roads in the area knows how treacherous they can be,
especially in the winter. For a comparison, take CR 12 (Old Weston
Road/Buckhannon Mountain Road) between Buckhannon and Weston, or CR
151 (Old Elkins Road) into Elkins. I took Buckhannon Mtn. Road into
Weston once, and it's a pretty harrowing drive. Corridor H greatly
improved safety for travelers to and from Elkins traveling to I-79,
the main through artery in the area. WV 20 is the other alternate
between Buckhannon and Clarksburg, but this, too, is a dangerous
ride.
Many West Virginians must travel long distances to get to their jobs.
In Upshur County, many people work in Clarksburg or even Fairmont.
These highways ensure faster and safer travel. Also, having modern,
safe highways bring additional much-needed jobs to some of the most
economically depressed areas in the state and country. So, I beg to
differ that Corridor H is a highway "from nowhere to nowhere." I
firmly believe we should finish Corridor H to give these same benefits
to the more isolated areas in eastern WV.
Thanks, and I look forward to finally talking to everyone about all
things roadgeek!
rsh...@gmail.com
right and if infrastructure was funded as it should be, I would agree
with you
but the Fed Hwy Trust Fund is bust
there is no money
and something has to give
plus you realize WV has gotten billions in fed money over the years
the party is over
Sherman L. Cahal
Rob, please ignore our resident, racist troll Randy.
Welcome to MTR!
Sherman Cahal
http://www.americanbyways.com
tollboothrob
>
> Welcome to MTR!
>
> Sherman Cahalhttp://www.americanbyways.com
Thanks, Sherman! I apologize for not hitting Reply and instead making
a new topic. It was late and I was (still) tired.
I am quite familiar with the antics of both Randy and CalRog...
On a side not about Corridor H, I always found it interesting that
people in the Buckhannon area actually call it "Corridor H," or, more
frequently, "the four-lane," or even the "interstate." I've never
heard anyone in the general public call US 50 "Corridor D," so it must
be because of the publicity Corridor H has experienced. I even
remember "Corridor H: Build It" bumper stickers.
Sherman L. Cahal
I would assume because it changes route designations so frequently. US
33, US 219, WV 55 (am I missing others?).
Sherman Cahal
Brian M. Powell
>
> - Show quoted text -
As Sherman suggested, I think the Corridor H name comes from the fact
that it does tend to jump between various numbers. If it had stayed
on the original route paralleling US 33, I doubt Corridor H as a name
would have come into as big of use.
Still, I think the road that most people in North Central West
Virginia think of with Corridor H is US 33 since it ties Elkins to the
I-79 corridor. The US 219 spur towards Parsons is basically just of
local usefulness at this point.
-Brian Powell (writing from Morgantown, WV)
Honorable Mention
They could give it a unifying state route number like Georgia does,
LOL. I think the main reason it does not have one number is that
WVDOT and VDOT apparently stay pissed at each other, thus WV refused
the US 48 designation. US 48 is the sensible number for the route,
but WV could pull a GA and call it "Route 555".
Jokes aside, I have had the privilege of driving some of it in 2002.
It was an interesting road on what was actually open...it reminded me
of GA 515 in the early days before sprawl caught up to it. I noticed
CR 151, which is of course really Secondary Road 151, on the old
route. I think it's interesting that WV occasionally signs
secondaries like primaries in a few instances. I'm not sure why this
was exceptional, except that WVDOH apparently felt the needed a
justifying reason to keep that road to primary route standards. It is
true that if WV ever loses a power player like Robert Byrd, projects
like this will never ever be completed. However, I think this area
would actually sprawl into DC metro in a robust economy if this road
was completed...I think that is what VA fears, which is why they
refuse to upgrade their side of Rt. 55. That is because this is an
exceptionally beautiful area that is really not that far from a major
city overall. However, I'm still a bit opposed to its completion
considering what it will do to the Canaan Valley/Blackwater Falls
area.
rsh...@gmail.com
wrote:
not to worry, it will never be done
mostly money, Byrd is done 6 yrs, or more likely less
you are correct, VA, Shenandoah, and Frederick Cos don't want any
sprawl like Charles Town, Martinsburg
Dum Dum and Sherman will be crying alligator tears but it will never
be done
Froggie
> and VDOT apparently stay pissed at each other, thus WV refused
> the US 48 designation.
If what I saw over the Potomac at Moorefield is any indication, WV did
not "refuse the US 48 designation". They simply haven't signed it
yet. AASHTO would not have approved US 48 if WVDOT did not submit a
request (see the recent US 15 PA/NY refusal for a more recent
example...NYSDOT did not submit a request).
> However, I think this area would actually sprawl into DC metro in
> a robust economy if this road was completed...I think that is what
> VA fears, which is why they refuse to upgrade their side of Rt. 55.
I doubt it. Unless people are willing to brave 1-hour commutes just
to Manassas (let alone closer in), they're not going to build west of
Strasburg. And if the Front Royal-Strasburg area is any indication
(areas which already have good road access to DC), they won't.
Froggie | Alexandria, VA | http://www.ajfroggie.com/roads/
Sherman L. Cahal
WVDOH hasn't refused the US 48 designation. It just isn't completed
enough to fully support the US 48 designation.
> I think that is what VA fears, which is why they
> refuse to upgrade their side of Rt. 55. That is because this is an
> exceptionally beautiful area that is really not that far from a major
> city overall. However, I'm still a bit opposed to its completion
> considering what it will do to the Canaan Valley/Blackwater Falls
> area.
^Agreed. I'm not sure how it will impact Canaan Valley, although the
preserve hasn't been extended too far north yet due to some active
strip mines in the area.
Sherman Cahal
Brian M. Powell
> > LOL. I think the main reason it does not have one number is that
> > WVDOT and VDOT apparently stay pissed at each other, thus WV refused
> > the US 48 designation. US 48 is the sensible number for the route,
> > but WV could pull a GA and call it "Route 555".
There's no point in giving a unifying number until the various parts
of the road are connected, though. With the gap in the middle, the
two completed Corridor H parts really function as three different
corridors - Weston to Elkins, Elkins to Parsons, and Moorefield to
Wardensville. It won't be until more of the road gets tied together
that they'll function as a through route worthy of a single number.
I'll be curious to see if US 48 gets signed all the way to Weston
along WV 93/WV 32/US 219/US 33 once to Bismarck-Moorefield segment
opens or if US 48 will temporarily end at WV 42.
>
> WVDOH hasn't refused the US 48 designation. It just isn't completed
> enough to fully support the US 48 designation.
I agree with Sherman. There's no reason to stack another designation
on top of WV 55 for the part east of Moorefield right now. Once the
stand-alone segment west of Moorefield opens, it will be time to roll
out US 48. I never really understood why Virginia was so quick to
sign US 48, especially since WV wasn't ready yet.
-Brian Powell
Honorable Mention
Considering this, I wish GA would designate GA 515 as a new US route
number...you wouldn't believe the confusion it causes when it serves
as an extension of I-575. GDOT also caused a lot of needless
confusion with 365...people think US 23 is still on the old route.