Corridor H

[rickmastfan67]

I'll have to find and scan the old WV state maps that show the proposed alignment of US 33 that say otherwise.

You're not talking about the second map on this page, are you? http://www.gribblenation.com/wvpics/corrh/

No, the map I remember had a proposed route marked as US 33. That map doesn't have a route number. My old maps are packed away in three or four different places and I don't have handy access to them.

Go back to that page and search for "1995 WVDOT Map showing the new northern route of Corridor H.".  The map shows that route as US-33.

[dave19]

   I drove through the construction area last Friday. I was hoping the weather would improve the further east I went, but it got worse. In Tucker County, there are a couple sections where it looks like they're ready to pave the eastbound lanes; I'm guessing they'll move both lanes of traffic onto the new pavement while they build the westbound ones.
   The fog got much thicker as I crossed into Grant County. The railroad overpass looked about complete. It looked like they had actually paved at least one of the big bridges below the dam breast. I turned onto Grassy Ridge Road and looked out off the overpass - the eastbound lanes were paved in both directions as far as the eye could see, and the paving was coming up to near the overpass on the westbound lanes. (Shoulders were not paved yet.)
   On Route 42 south of the gas station, traffic was redirected onto the new right of way. The ends weren't complete and flaggers were there. The US 48 overpass was done, and construction workers had their cars parked on it. It's only been two or three months since I was last up that way, probably closer to three, and I was surprised how much work has been done since then.

[seicer]

April 29, 2012

Along WV 93:

East of WV 93, this segment has since opened to an access road to WV 93:

Feel free to use this on your web-sites with attribution.

--

A bit later:

Since opened:

[mtfallsmikey]

Nice pics! Looks like not much in the way of foliage color up ther yet. Hope to ride up there myself sometime this weekend.

[seicer]

Oh, these are older. Fall foliage is either peak or past peak up there.

[cpzilliacus]

Oh, these are older. Fall foliage is either peak or past peak up there.

Still very nice pictures.  Thanks for sharing. 

[mtfallsmikey]

Who has one of these except me?

[cpzilliacus]

Who has one of these except me?

Not me. 

Looks interesting, of course, and presumably not available online (I looked some time back).

Revealing that the cover of this document by WVDOT reads Elkins to I-81. 

Wonder if VDOT or the county elected officials in Frederick and Shenandoah Counties were even given a chance to comment on its contents?

[mtfallsmikey]

Who has one of these except me?

Not me. 

Looks interesting, of course, and presumably not available online (I looked some time back).

Revealing that the cover of this document by WVDOT reads Elkins to I-81. 

Wonder if VDOT or the county elected officials in Frederick and Shenandoah Counties were even given a chance to comment on its contents?

I got that at the first Corridor H meeting I went to in Wardensville. Got another one at another meeting in Strasburg. Nowhere in this study was a route from Harrisonburg to Elkins mentioned. The preferred early path was thru Moorefield/Petersburg/Seneca rocks, but was poo-poohed, glad they didn't spoil that scenery.. That truly is God's country down there. Reps. from Shenandoah Co. were present at the Strasburg meeting as I recall.

[cpzilliacus]

WTRF-TV: Study: Speeding up Corridor H good for W.Va.

A new study says West Virginia would receive $1.25 billion in new revenue and an uninterrupted link to the Inland Port in Front Royal, Va., if Corridor H is completed ahead of schedule.

The study conducted by RQA Group says the highway's construction would add another $800 million to the state's economy.

The Corridor H Authority released the findings of the study on Monday.

[dave19]

Related article, FWIW:
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201310210091

[mtfallsmikey]

And another one from our side of the mountain:

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2013/10/revival_sought_for_long_forgotten_highway_proposal-mobile.html

[froggie]

This Steve Foster is obviously clueless when it comes to what's happening on this side of the border.

"I'm sure there are people in Richmond aware of Corridor H"

Of course they're aware.  They're aware that the whole push for Corridor H completion is coming from West Virginia economic interests, but there's little benefit (study claims to the contrary) for Virginia directly.  I also got a laugh out of Foster's claim that it would "relieve traffic congestion on I-81".  That is complete bunk.

[cpzilliacus]

This Steve Foster is obviously clueless when it comes to what's happening on this side of the border.

"I'm sure there are people in Richmond aware of Corridor H"

Of course they're aware.  They're aware that the whole push for Corridor H completion is coming from West Virginia economic interests, but there's little benefit (study claims to the contrary) for Virginia directly.

Though someone in the Commonwealth of Virginia apparently expects at least some truck trips to come to the Inland Port in Front Royal from West Virginia, as indicated by the somewhat battered sign below which the nice people from VDOT installed on U.S. 50 eastbound in Frederick County just prior to Va. 37 (and the corporate limits of Winchester - it is visible on GSV here):

I also got a laugh out of Foster's claim that it would "relieve traffic congestion on I-81".  That is complete bunk.

To the extent that better highway access to the Inland Port will encourage West Virginia shippers in the Potomac Highlands counties of West Virginia and places to the west of the Eastern Continental Divide to take better advantage of it for overseas shipments, that would reduce truck vehicle miles travelled (VMT) on the Virginia highway network (compared to trucking it to seaports in Hampton Roads or (in some cases) Baltimore), but I believe you are correct - I do not see where it would provide much relief for I-81, which badly needs to be widened across most of Virginia.

As H.B. suggested elsewhere, a completed Corridor H also provides a viable network link for automobile and truck traffic from the I-79 corridor to I-81 and I-66, which may result in more truck traffic to the Inland Port from places significantly further away than Corridor H.  A rule of thumb says that most freight has to travel at least 400 miles before shipment by railroad becomes a viable alternative to transport by truck.

[cpzilliacus]

"I'm sure there are people in Richmond aware of Corridor H"

Now in Foster's defense, I know that there are people on the VDOT staff in Richmond that have some familiarity with Corridor H. 

I know that because I have discussed Corridor H with a few of them (not recently).

I also know (because I just checked) that there is nothing in the VDOT Six Year Program for Va. 55 or U.S. 48, and implicitly, nothing for Corridor H. 

[mtfallsmikey]

Operation of the Inland Port was at one time going to be turned over to the private sector, has been sort of a money loser, no rail service much west of Front Royal (or Front Roll, as we locals call it), or south in the western part of the Shenandoah Valley. Not a tremendous amount of industial activity in W.V. either, Moorefield has Pilgrim's Pride (KFC supplier), chicken farms, American Woodmark has closed, Grant Co. Mulch, near Petersburg, some nat. gas pipeline activity, logging, not much else. Tourism is becoming the big industry in W.V.

[cpzilliacus]

Operation of the Inland Port was at one time going to be turned over to the private sector, has been sort of a money loser, no rail service much west of Front Royal (or Front Roll, as we locals call it), or south in the western part of the Shenandoah Valley. Not a tremendous amount of industial activity in W.V. either, Moorefield has Pilgrim's Pride (KFC supplier), chicken farms, American Woodmark has closed, Grant Co. Mulch, near Petersburg, some nat. gas pipeline activity, logging, not much else. Tourism is becoming the big industry in W.V.

My understanding of the Virginia Inland Port was that it was, above all, intended to make Hampton Roads more competitive with Baltimore.  The Hampton Roads is obviously much closer to the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but Baltimore is significantly closer by highway or rail to the markets of the Midwestern states.  The Inland Port was supposed to be about attracting truck traffic (esepecially) that would otherwise head down I-70 to Baltimore, and it is about 50 miles less travel distance from (for example) Pittsburgh.

As for industrial activity in West Virginia, I agree there's not much in the Potomac Highlands.  Agriculture is pretty dominant.  But there is one major industry that would seem to benefit from better access to the Inland Port - wood and other forest products.  There are quite a few large sawmills and wood processing facilities in the area (including several that front onto the western part of Corridor H between Weston and Elkins).

[mtfallsmikey]

A lot of it goes to the (old Wesvaco) pulp mill in Luke Md.

[Buck87]

A friend and I stumbled across this highway in September of 2011 while driving from Cincinnati to Northern VA. He was driving and going entirely by his GPS, which after a long stretch of US 50 to WV 42 started sending us down what, at the time, seemed like completely random back roads. We wondered WTF his GPS was doing, but followed the route it suggested. After several minutes of general confusion we happened across a very new looking interchange for something called US 48, which neither the GPS nor his outdated Rand McNally acknowledged. So we went ahead and jumped on it eastbound, finding it funny that his GPS screen was showing us in the middle of nowhere. This 4 lane road was a very welcome sight after what had been a very stressful and annoying stretch of 2 lane roads since reaching the end of corridor D.

What seems odd to me was that his GPS clearly was updated enough to know exactly where to send us (looking back at it, I'm pretty sure it was Scherr to Greenland Gap to Patterson Creek) but then didn't mention anything about getting on US 48 once we got to it or show it on the map at all.

I hadn't done much research on what that road was until now, so this thread was a very interesting and informative read for me (when it was on topic)
 

[cpzilliacus]

A lot of it goes to the (old Wesvaco) pulp mill in Luke Md.

Agreed.  Though there are a lot of trees (hardwoods?) in the High Allegheney Mountains of Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia that are felled for uses other than pulp.

Given how nearly all other industry in Western Maryland has gone out of business or otherwise moved away (except prisons), I am amazed and gratified (as a Maryland taxpayer) that the Luke plant survives.

[cpzilliacus]

A friend and I stumbled across this highway in September of 2011 while driving from Cincinnati to Northern VA. He was driving and going entirely by his GPS, which after a long stretch of US 50 to WV 42 started sending us down what, at the time, seemed like completely random back roads. We wondered WTF his GPS was doing, but followed the route it suggested. After several minutes of general confusion we happened across a very new looking interchange for something called US 48, which neither the GPS nor his outdated Rand McNally acknowledged. So we went ahead and jumped on it eastbound, finding it funny that his GPS screen was showing us in the middle of nowhere. This 4 lane road was a very welcome sight after what had been a very stressful and annoying stretch of 2 lane roads since reaching the end of corridor D.

What seems odd to me was that his GPS clearly was updated enough to know exactly where to send us (looking back at it, I'm pretty sure it was Scherr to Greenland Gap to Patterson Creek) but then didn't mention anything about getting on US 48 once we got to it or show it on the map at all.

I hadn't done much research on what that road was until now, so this thread was a very interesting and informative read for me (when it was on topic)

Good story. Thank you for sharing.

I always assume that many (most?) GPS units out there have not been updated to include the newest sections of U.S. 48.  Sounds very much like the network assignment algorithms in your GPS favor four lane divided highways over two laners like U.S. 50 between Gormania, W.Va. and Gore, Va. (plenty of steep grades (not all of which have climbing lanes, though many do) and twisting and turning along most of it). 

I have not driven much of U.S. 50 west of Redhouse, Maryland into Preston County, W.Va., but from the maps it looks like a pretty challenging road.  East of where you turned onto W.Va. 42, it is a tiring and (IMO) dangerous road at night or in the rain, though the scenery is nice and sometimes spectacular during hours of daylight on a clear day.

Note: network assignment is a phrase from travel demand forecasting models, I am not sure if it is correct to use it in the context of GPS routing software or not.

[mtfallsmikey]

A lot of it goes to the (old Wesvaco) pulp mill in Luke Md.

Agreed.  Though there are a lot of trees (hardwoods?) in the High Allegheney Mountains of Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia that are felled for uses other than pulp.

Given how nearly all other industry in Western Maryland has gone out of business or otherwise moved away (except prisons), I am amazed and gratified (as a Maryland taxpayer) that the Luke plant survives.

A lot of small/medium-sized logging/timber operations rely on that mill to take their products. The veneer/flooring/furniture markets are coming back slowly, prices and demand were way down for a long time. ...And, what ever happened to the old missle plant west of Cumberland?

[machpost]

Some hope for completion of the Virginia end of Corridor H:

Supporters of Corridor H got an unexpected boost Nov. 20 with the release of a State of Virginia highway construction schedule that lists a 2026 completion date for Corridor H within the state.

The Appalachian Regional Commission, in its Appalachian Development Highway System 2013 Completion Plan Report, targets September 2026 as the finish time for the 14.4 miles of highway that will run from the West Virginia line to Interstate 81 at Strasburg, Va.

http://www.statejournal.com/story/24025767/corridor-h-supporters-encouraged-by-virginia-completion-date-projection

[cpzilliacus]

Some hope for completion of the Virginia end of Corridor H:

Supporters of Corridor H got an unexpected boost Nov. 20 with the release of a State of Virginia highway construction schedule that lists a 2026 completion date for Corridor H within the state.

The Appalachian Regional Commission, in its Appalachian Development Highway System 2013 Completion Plan Report, targets September 2026 as the finish time for the 14.4 miles of highway that will run from the West Virginia line to Interstate 81 at Strasburg, Va.

http://www.statejournal.com/story/24025767/corridor-h-supporters-encouraged-by-virginia-completion-date-projection

I'll believe it when I see it in the VDOT Six Year Program.

[froggie]

I'll believe it when spades and shovels are turning dirt in the ground.  Even the Six Year Program is no guarantee...