WV: Former U.S. Route 35 renamed West Virginia Route 817
Sherman L. Cahal
U.S. 35 between St. Albans, Winfield now W.Va. 817
Charleston Daily Mail, October 27, 2008
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The section of U.S. 35 that connects W.Va. 34 and
U.S. 60, from Winfield to St. Albans, has been renamed W.Va. 817.
State Division of Highways workers replaced U.S. 35 signs earlier this
week.
The name change became official Oct. 10 when the state Division of
Highways opened part of the new U.S. 35, which connects Interstate 64
near Scott Depot to W.Va. 34, said state Department of Transportation
spokesman Brent Walker.
The opening of the 2.1-mile roadway is part of a longer-term project
to expand 34 miles of U.S. 35 through Mason and Putnam counties from
two lanes to four.
As portions of the new U.S. 35 open, stretches of the old U.S. 35 will
be renamed to W.Va. 817, Walker said.
"You can't have two U.S. 35s," he said.
Eleanor resident David O'Neal said the name change would take a while
for Putnam County residents to adopt.
"We'll probably just call it the old 35," he said.
Linda Legg of Winfield said she is concerned that DOH has not put up
signs marking the stretch of road as the "old" or "alternative" U.S.
35.
"That road is so heavily traveled by people going to Ohio, I'm sure
they'll think they're going the wrong way," Legg said.
She said a car from Indiana made a U-turn in front of her when coming
off Interstate 64 at the St. Albans exit.
"I'm sure he saw the signs and thought he was going the wrong way,"
she said.
Walker said DOH has not received any complaints about the name change.
Winfield Mayor Ron Stone, who found out about the switch Thursday
evening, said the new signs could "cause some confusion."
It was DOH's decision to change the highway's name, Stone said, and to
put up signs marking the name change.
"That's their call," he said. "We can't dictate what they do."
Two sections of the new U.S. 35 are scheduled to open later this year.
A 1.54-mile section will connect County Route 19 (Hurricane Creek
Road) to County Route 15, and another 1.65-mile stretch will connect
County Route 15 to W.Va. 869 (the Buffalo Bridge).
U.S. 35 is used heavily by commercial vehicles traveling to Ohio. The
two-lane highway is one of the most dangerous in the state.
In 2006, there were 147 accidents, with one person killed, on U.S. 35.
Its straight, flat stretches encourage speeding, and with only two
lanes, the route is too narrow to handle the heavy tractor-trailer
traffic that can endanger smaller vehicles.
--
Sherman Cahal
http://www.americanbyways.com
http://www.abandonedonline.net
http://www.bridgestunnels.com
http://www.urbanup.net
SP Cook
wrote:
> As portions of the new U.S. 35 open, stretches of the old U.S. 35 will
> be renamed to W.Va. 817, Walker said.
>
> "You can't have two U.S. 35s," he said.
If only North Carolina could learn that simple lesson, the Piedmont
Triad would be a much simplier place to travel.
> Two sections of the new U.S. 35 are scheduled to open later this year.
> A 1.54-mile section will connect County Route 19 (Hurricane Creek
> Road) to County Route 15, and another 1.65-mile stretch will connect
> County Route 15 to W.Va. 869 (the Buffalo Bridge).
>
Note that this will, for a few months, create two WV 817s, however.
When the next two sections are opened, US 35 will be rerouted and the
old road between the Buffalo Bridge and the CR 15 - current US 35
junction will be WV 817. Then the old road will remain US 35 from CR
19 to the on-ramp for the recently opened section. The recently
resigned WV 817 will resume on the old route. However in April, the
missing middle section between the current end of the new US 35 and CR
19 will open.
> U.S. 35 is used heavily by commercial vehicles traveling to Ohio. The
> two-lane highway is one of the most dangerous in the state.
>
Note, the the two most important projects in the state, obviously
would be the state's busiest highway, the I-64 bridge, currently in
its NINTH year of rebuilding, and US 35, the most dangerous, also
years behind schedule, while other projects with little danger and
little traffic get priority.
SP Cook