I'm on the second night (currently in Kingsport, Tenn.) of a short trip to check out some construction and new roads, and plenty of old signs.
The first order of business was to check out the construction on the new US 35 route in West Virginia. To access it, I crossed the river at Ironton and took OH 93 to Jackson to hit US 35 there. It's a long 45 miles from Ironton to Jackson. The road is a typical mountain highway in Lawrence County, but is better in Jackson County with some portions that seemingly have been rebuilt.
There's a smattering of button copy left on and along US 35 between Jackson and Gallipolis that I saw, and possibly more that I didn't see.
WV 817 is now signed concurrently with US 35 on the two-lane section, apparently in preparation for when US 35 is relocated. This was my first time on the completed four-lane section of US 35 south of the Silver Memorial Bridge.
I accessed the new US 35 construction from three roads -- Cornstalk Road and Sixteen Mile Road pass under the new road via tall bridges. There's at-grade access from Plantation Road. I did not go up Pond Branch, Black Oak, and Honeycutt roads because they appeared to be very minor roads (Black Oak was gravel) and I doubted there would be access to the new road. So it appears that there will be only one access point between the two current ends of the four-lane.
As far as the road itself, it appears that all that is needed to finish the work are the tie-ins on each end, and final paving. Looks like the new road is going to be paved with asphalt instead of concrete. Hope it holds up better than the old portion from the Buffalo bridge to I-64. That pavement is in terrible shape.
A late start from home, some slow traffic, and persistent rain showers made me decide to backtrack to Huntington to spend the night. I-64 is a mess near Barboursville due to the widening project. A really nice piece of button copy overhead on both sides to show the turn from WV 34 to I-64 eastbound.
This morning, I set out for Beckley to check out the new bypass and the new section of the Coalfields Expressway. It rained much of the day but slacked off for my two new road explorations. I stopped at the rest area near Hurricane to pick up some maps. The style has changed somewhat and the maps are printed on slick paper. Candy bars are $2.10 in the vending machine for a regular size bar. No, thanks.
The transponder on my E-ZPass worked just fine, showed a paid toll of $0.00 at the Cabin Creek and Mossy toll plazas. At Mossy, o followed a Tennessee vehicle that obviously did not have an E-ZPass through an E-ZPass only lane. He got a message saying "Go Call E-Z Pass" after he sat there bewildered for a few minutes.
Exited at Corridor L and drove the new bypass end to end both ways, using I-64 and WV 307 to complete the U-turn. There's some button copy still remaining on overheads at the connector to US 19 on the south end of the bypass.
After that, it was on to the Coalfields Expressway, which is now fully signed as WV 121 for Mullens. The new section is paved with concrete, including the connector to WV 54 which is a very, very steep hill. Unlike the previous end of the road at Slab Fork, there's no sign of any continued work. The route dead-ends into a mountainside right at the left turn to the connector.
From Mullens, I took WV 16 to WV 10 to Princeton. All of WV 10 has a very new surface, and every bridge has been rebuilt. In many cases, banks have been stabilized with concrete tiles where drainage pipes run under the road. A sign indicated this was part of the "Roads to Prosperity" program, and I know WV 10 was a corridor of emphasis.
At Princeton, I took US 19/460 to Bluefield, where some of the construction on US 52 is noticeable beyond the big bridge that crosses US 19 and WV 112. I just wonder if there are any places where one can access the construction zone on US 52 for future exploration.
From there, it was on to Bluefield, Va., with all the sign goodness still in place. Some of the signs at the VA 102 exit have been replaced, including an oval "KY 460" marker.
Then, I made all sorts of trips through Tazewell on US 19/460 Business, VA 16, Alternate VA 16, and VA 16 to snap photos of all the cutouts that are still there.
From there, US 19 south to Abingdon, VA 140 (with circular signs) and I-81 to Bristol, then US 11W to Kingsport.
Did Tennessee and Virginia raise their gas taxes? Gas at the Pounding Mill, Va.. Walmart gas station is usually extremely cheap. Today, it was the same price it is back home ($2.899) and prices are similar in Tennessee. Gas in those two states is normally a lot cheaper than in Kentucky.
Not sure what route I'll take tomorrow. US 23 is the direct, familiar route, but I may try something different just for the heck of it.
