Economic Development History of Interstate 68 in Maryland

Started by cpzilliacus, November 28, 2015, 09:42:39 PM

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AlexandriaVA

Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 14, 2015, 04:50:15 PM
Quote from: dave19 on December 11, 2015, 10:07:41 PM
On the subject of integrating the EP with the rest of WV, was there ever any thought to building an expressway connecting I-81 in the Martinsburg area with I-70 in the vicinity of Big Pool, MD?

I doubt the demand is there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5724592,-78.001186,11z/data=!5m1!1e4

Note the mountain ridge running north-south. $$$. Demand won't ever justify costs.


cpzilliacus

Quote from: AlexandriaVA on December 14, 2015, 05:54:56 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on December 14, 2015, 04:50:15 PM
Quote from: dave19 on December 11, 2015, 10:07:41 PM
On the subject of integrating the EP with the rest of WV, was there ever any thought to building an expressway connecting I-81 in the Martinsburg area with I-70 in the vicinity of Big Pool, MD?

I doubt the demand is there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5724592,-78.001186,11z/data=!5m1!1e4

Note the mountain ridge running north-south. $$$. Demand won't ever justify costs.

WVDOT does make mention of some sort of upgrade to W.Va. 9 between I-81 and U.S. 522 on their Web site here (see text below, with emphasis added).

QuoteBerkeley Springs to Martinsburg

One important element of the WV 9 upgrade in the Eastern Panhandle involves the segment from Berkeley Springs to Martinsburg. The Division of Highways will begin the engineering studies and continue the environmental studies, which always precede any actual right-of-way and construction work, once federal funding becomes available for the preliminary design studies.

A corridor has been selected for the approximate 27-mile section between US 522 and I-81.  This part of the overall WV 9 project still is in the very early stages of development.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

hbelkins

Berkeley Springs to Martinsburg would be a lot easier than Berkeley Springs to Paw Paw.

But I would think the most pressing corridors left in the eastern panhandle would be US 522 and US 340, not the remainder of WV 9.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: hbelkins on December 14, 2015, 09:23:01 PM
Berkeley Springs to Martinsburg would be a lot easier than Berkeley Springs to Paw Paw.

Absolutely.  The grades on W.Va. 9 from Berkley Springs to Paw Paw are tough.

Quote from: hbelkins on December 14, 2015, 09:23:01 PM
But I would think the most pressing corridors left in the eastern panhandle would be US 522 and US 340, not the remainder of WV 9.

I agree. 

Not clear why U.S. 340 was not widened by DOH south to the Clarke County, Virginia border when most of the rest of it was widened into an West Virginia ADHS-style expressway.

Regarding U.S. 522, bypassing Berkeley Springs is not especially easy. 

The west side of town features a steep slope, so that is probably not workable.  I suppose the east side might work, though a lot of land would have to be taken.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

dave19

   Regarding my previous post: Without straying into Fictional Highways territory, I was thinking that such a route could come off of I-81 a mile or two north of the WV 9 interchange in the area of an overpass that used to carry railroad tracks over I-81 (now it's a service road for CSX) and more or less parallel the railroad up to the Potomac. It would cross the river and meet I-70 east of the mountains that AlexandriaVA references above.
   I have seen the site regarding proposed improvements to the WV 9 corridor, and there used to be a site regarding a proposed 4-lane US 522 through Morgan County.



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