Corridor H

[cpzilliacus]

Took a trip on the "eastern" part of Corridor H for the first time in many years this past weekend (there was only one relatively small part open between Baker and Wardensville the last time I was out that way).  Did not take any pictures, though I may do that in the future.  Some observations:

There has been a lot of discussion about what should happen east of Wardensville - to I-81 in Virginia near Strasburg.  I noticed that U.S. 48/Va. 55 is now marked as a "scenic byway," but only in Shenandoah County (not Frederick County). The grade from the ridgecrest of North Mountain (at the Va./W.Va. state line) down to Wardensville is steeper than I remember, and there was plenty of summertime traffic (more traffic there than on eastern Corridor H itself).

The current eastern terminus of Corridor H approaching Wardensville is at the end of a pretty steep downhill grade.

All of eastern Corridor H is marked as a bike trail (on the  shoulders), yet the bridges on the massive bridges that carry the highway across many of the valleys have very narrow shoulders.  And the grades are still plenty steep.  Wonder how much bike traffic will use it?

The rock cuts through the ridges are massive, as big (in terms of scale) as I-68 crossing Sideling Hill in Maryland.

The vistas from eastern Corridor H are absolutely spectacular.  With a little selling, this could be an uncongested alternative to Skyline Drive during leaf season.

Eastern Corridor H comes to an end (for now) at a connector to W.Va. 93 near Greenland, but the massive bridge that carries Corridor H over W.Va. 93 appears to be complete.  Once off of Corridor H, I drove north (east according to WVDOH) on 93 to U.S. 50 to turn east toward Romney.  The trip on U.S. 50 reminded me why Corridor H is a good project. 

[1995hoo]

I went through there today, the full length of the currently-open eastern portion. Not sure how pictures will come out: Ms1995hoo was taking pictures as I drove but does not always do well because she tries to "frame" the pictures too much, and at some point my dashcam froze. So I'll see as the week goes on whether I have any good pictures.

I concur with cpzilliacus about what a great road that is. The speed limit is 65 and I had my cruise control set at 75. Very few other cars on the road. I didn't feel comfortable going faster because of the curves and because the car was somewhat heavily loaded (two sets of golf clubs plus a four-day weekend's worth of luggage). I noted the bike route signs too, but I would NOT want to ride a bike on there at all.

I came from the opposite direction from cpzilliacus. We were at the Omni Bedford Springs for the weekend (our anniversary is July 28) and we decided to go see Fallingwater afterwards. So from Fallingwater I came down PA-381 and US-40 to US-219, took that to Oakland and stopped for gas, and then I picked up US-50 east to WV-42. The view from the top of WV-42 where the Corridor H construction is underway, and from where you can see the huge bridge cp mentions, is a stunning view.

Corridor H is now my default route to or from either Western Maryland, Pittsburgh, or farther west. I'm simply utterly tired of I-270 and I-70 in Maryland. It's just too bad there's no new option across Virginia other than VA-7, US-50, I-66, or US-211 (unless I go WAY too far out of the way, and the Wife Acceptance Factor for that is LESS THAN ZERO....she indulged me quite a bit today with the Corridor H route). I'm always looking for new routes through very familiar territory.


Edited to add: I don't know what happened, but it appears my dashcam malfunctioned and got very little of Corridor H itself. Guess that just means another trip out there is in order, maybe the weekend in September when Ms1995hoo will be out of town. Good opportunity to go clinch a bunch of West Virginia routes.


Edited a second time to fix a typo.

[seicer]

Biking it is no problem, especially with the light traffic. When I was in Austin, TX for a while, I biked on many of the local highways and freeways that were not interstates, and were signed for cyclists. The shoulders were wide and cyclists had the option of continuing down the ramp or across the lane and onto the mainline shoulder. I actually saw quite a few cyclists out on those highways out there.

I've biked Corridor H and some of the routes out there (WV 93, US 219, etc.). Very scenic. Yeah, the grades on Corridor H are long, but it's not incredibly steep.

[1995hoo]

Yeah, for me it's the long grades. I'm not in good enough shape to bike that sort of road.

[cpzilliacus]

I've biked Corridor H and some of the routes out there (WV 93, US 219, etc.). Very scenic. Yeah, the grades on Corridor H are long, but it's not incredibly steep.

I am not in any  shape to be biking Corridor H either (but maybe at some point in the future, the Mountaineer State could do a Tour de West Virginia?).  It would make West Virginia look great to a television audience, just like the Tour de France does.

As for bikes and safety, the shoulders are plenty wide enough for safe bike use.  My problem is the very  narrow shoulders on some of those long and high bridges.

[NE2]

So don't use the shoulder. We've already discussed this ad nauseam and there's no point in going through the motions again.

[cpzilliacus]

I went through there today, the full length of the currently-open eastern portion. Not sure how pictures will come out: Ms1995hoo was taking pictures as I drove but does not always do well because she tries to "frame" the pictures too much, and at some point my dashcam froze. So I'll see as the week goes on whether I have any good pictures.

I did not bother with any images at all, since I was driving so much of it for the very first time.

One other comment, FWIW - I noticed a lot of dead spots in terms of cellular phone coverage along eastern Corridor H.  Wonder if WVDOT will be encouraging the cell providers to build some new cell sites along it? There would seem to be plenty of space along the ridgetops for cell towers.

I concur with cpzilliacus about what a great road that is. The speed limit is 65 and I had my cruise control set at 75. Very few other cars on the road. I didn't feel comfortable going faster because of the curves and because the car was somewhat heavily loaded (two sets of golf clubs plus a four-day weekend's worth of luggage). I noted the bike route signs too, but I would NOT want to ride a bike on there at all.

Yeah, the little bit of traffic that there is dwindles as one goes west.

I will add that the grades on Corridor H are a little steeper than on I-68 between Cumberland and Hancock.  On 68 I did not once have to shift the truck out of overdrive - on Corridor H I  had to drop down one gear to maintain 65 on some of the grades.

I came from the opposite direction from cpzilliacus. We were at the Omni Bedford Springs for the weekend (our anniversary is July 28) and we decided to go see Fallingwater afterwards. So from Fallingwater I came down PA-381 and US-40 to US-219, took that to Oakland and stopped for gas, and then I picked up US-50 east to WV-42. The view from the top of WV-42 where the Corridor H construction is underway, and from where you can see the huge bridge cp mentions, is a stunning view.

This road should be "marketed" to residents of the D.C. and Baltimore media markets as great drive for the views.  I don't know if there was a deliberate effort by WVDOT to route and align the road to make the views more spectacular, but they have done just that.

And  coming up to the (current) east end west end of eastern Corridor H at W.Va. 93, the windmills on the ridge near Mount Storm are pretty neat as well.

Corridor H is now my default route to or from either Western Maryland, Pittsburgh, or farther west. I'm simply utterly tired of I-270 and I-70 in Maryland. It's just too bad there's no new option across Virginia other than VA-7, US-50, I-66, or US-211 (unless I go WAY too far out of the way, and the Wife Acceptance Factor for that is LESS THAN ZERO....she indulged me quite a bit today with the Corridor H route). I'm always looking for new routes through very familiar territory.

I don't mind I-70 and I-68 at all.  I do mind I-270 between Germantown and Frederick, which is an inadequate road for the amount of traffic it has to serve - and the blame for that state of affairs should mostly be placed at the doorstep of the Montgomery County Council, which has stonewalled widening proposals for many years. 

Edited to add: I don't know what happened, but it appears my dashcam malfunctioned and got very little of Corridor H itself. Guess that just means another trip out there is in order, maybe the weekend in September when Ms1995hoo will be out of town. Good opportunity to go clinch a bunch of West Virginia routes.

That sounds like a good reason.

[mtfallsmikey]

Well, you guys passed close to my house, should have stopped in for a beer...Yes, cell coverage is minimal out there, no ugly towers, or other signs of urban life needed out that way, but that is not a sermon, just a thought...

The deal with the Wardensville-Va. line is that it will not be built until:

Rt. 55 becomes "unserviceable", or..
Money with time limitations in which to spend it, or
Congress appropiates money for completion.

Not sure if I'll ever see it completed to I-81 in my lifetime, Va. will not spend the money, unless W.V./Feds lay it out. it will go right thru property that belongs to folks who have owned land on the proposed right of way for generations, about 3 mi. from me.

[1995hoo]

....

This road should be "marketed" to residents of the D.C. and Baltimore media markets as great drive for the views.  I don't know if there was a deliberate effort by WVDOT to route and align the road to make the views more spectacular, but they have done just that.

And  coming up to the (current) east end at W.Va. 93, the windmills on the ridge near Mount Storm are pretty neat as well.

....

The other thing is that it's a far more direct and faster way to places like the Canaan Valley than the traditional routes via I-70 and I-68. It might, and I have to emphasize "might," be faster to Deep Creek Lake as well depending on one's point of origin–while you still have the two-lane sections of WV-42, US-50, and either US-219 or MD-560 depending on your route, you can move right along on those because everyone else is using the Interstate.

In my case, the primary motivation, aside from checking out the construction, was simply wanting a different route through very familiar territory. I'm sure we've all been in that situation.

[mtfallsmikey]

A friend who lives in Springfield has a place near Jennings Randolph lake, goes to the end of 48, just a short run up 93 to 50, and he's there, says it saves him 40-45 min from driving up 50 thru Winchester.  I have told a lot of folks here at work (Reston) to go out on 48 in the fall to see color rather than the "tame" and crowded Skyline Drive...

If you really want to do a neat all day, or most of the day drive, go to the end of 48, go south back thru Petersburg, then south to Seneca Rocks, then 33 east back to I-81...

[cpzilliacus]

Well, you guys passed close to my house, should have stopped in for a beer...Yes, cell coverage is minimal out there, no ugly towers, or other signs of urban life needed out that way, but that is not a sermon, just a thought...

A road that big should probably have cell tower coverage.  And I suppose it will happen over time.

Been listening to Pastor Lon's commercials on WTOP? 

The deal with the Wardensville-Va. line is that it will not be built until:

Rt. 55 becomes "unserviceable", or..
Money with time limitations in which to spend it, or
Congress appropiates money for completion.

I think it's the  last one that will get it done.  There was also a "stand still" agreement that I think was part of the Record of Decision for Corridor H between Wardensville and the Virginia border (and maybe  all the way to Strasburg).

Not sure if I'll ever see it completed to I-81 in my lifetime, Va. will not spend the money, unless W.V./Feds lay it out. it will go right thru property that belongs to folks who have owned land on the proposed right of way for generations, about 3 mi. from me.

I  cannot answer that.  Though in this case Virginia is playing the obstructionist role that Maryland has played on a project that many in Virginia want to see built. 

As for running the highway through someones property, that is always a problem, though  they are supposed to be made whole as part of any condemnation process.

[mtfallsmikey]

Well, you guys passed close to my house, should have stopped in for a beer...Yes, cell coverage is minimal out there, no ugly towers, or other signs of urban life needed out that way, but that is not a sermon, just a thought...

A road that big should probably have cell tower coverage.  And I suppose it will happen over time.

Been listening to Pastor Lon's commercials on WTOP? 

The deal with the Wardensville-Va. line is that it will not be built until:

Rt. 55 becomes "unserviceable", or..
Money with time limitations in which to spend it, or
Congress appropiates money for completion.

I think it's the  last one that will get it done.  There was also a "stand still" agreement that I think was part of the Record of Decision for Corridor H between Wardensville and the Virginia border (and maybe  all the way to Strasburg).

Not sure if I'll ever see it completed to I-81 in my lifetime, Va. will not spend the money, unless W.V./Feds lay it out. it will go right thru property that belongs to folks who have owned land on the proposed right of way for generations, about 3 mi. from me.

I  cannot answer that.  Though in this case Virginia is playing the obstructionist role that Maryland has played on a project that many in Virginia want to see built. 

As for running the highway through someones property, that is always a problem, though  they are supposed to be made whole as part of any condemnation process.

I understand that some time ago, W.Va. was seeking money from DHS to complete the road, on the basis that it would serve as an emergency evac. route out of the D.C. Metro area in case SHTF... (Do we need all of those city folk coming out into our neck of the woods?)

Used to hear Pastor Lon's words of wisdom on WTOP, but listen to Sirius/WMAL mostly now.

I still have the original (thick!) binder for the planning of Corridor H, got it at a meeting I went to in Wardensville a long time ago....

I don't really consider it obstructionist to not fund a highway that primarily benefits W.Va. (nothing personal to those residents), but no Fed $$, no road, why should we Virginians pick up the entire tab for it?

[froggie]

I understand that some time ago, W.Va. was seeking money from DHS to complete the road, on the basis that it would serve as an emergency evac. route out of the D.C. Metro area in case SHTF... (Do we need all of those city folk coming out into our neck of the woods?)

When the segment from Moorefield over to Knobley Rd opened a couple years ago, there were several officials at the dedication ceremony (I was present) that used the "emergency evacuation route" line in promoting the corridor's completion.

I don't really consider it obstructionist to not fund a highway that primarily benefits W.Va. (nothing personal to those residents), but no Fed $$, no road, why should we Virginians pick up the entire tab for it?

Completely benefits West Virginia...CP's comments about the Port of Virginia notwithstanding.  I just don't see a lot of truck traffic using it to get to the Port of Virginia even if it was completed.  And traffic volumes by far don't even come close to warranting 4-lanes.  Virginia has other 2-lane segments far more in need of 4-laning than VA 55.

[oscar]

I understand that some time ago, W.Va. was seeking money from DHS to complete the road, on the basis that it would serve as an emergency evac. route out of the D.C. Metro area in case SHTF... (Do we need all of those city folk coming out into our neck of the woods?)

When the segment from Moorefield over to Knobley Rd opened a couple years ago, there were several officials at the dedication ceremony (I was present) that used the "emergency evacuation route" line in promoting the corridor's completion.

"Emergency evacuation" was also the excuse for jamming down Arlington's throats a few miles of auxiliary lanes on westbound I-66 inside the Capital Beltway.  I was one of the few in Arlington to support the project, but I found the evacuation excuse unconvincing there, as I do for Corridor H. 

[hbelkins]

Completely benefits West Virginia...CP's comments about the Port of Virginia notwithstanding.  I just don't see a lot of truck traffic using it to get to the Port of Virginia even if it was completed.  And traffic volumes by far don't even come close to warranting 4-lanes.  Virginia has other 2-lane segments far more in need of 4-laning than VA 55.

Kentucky and Tennessee built a lot of ARC corridors as two-lane roads. Now, 40 or so years later, they're coming back and either widening the existing routes or building new segments of the routes as four-lane highways.

[cpzilliacus]

I don't really consider it obstructionist to not fund a highway that primarily benefits W.Va. (nothing personal to those residents), but no Fed $$, no road, why should we Virginians pick up the entire tab for it?

Completely benefits West Virginia...CP's comments about the Port of Virginia notwithstanding.  I just don't see a lot of truck traffic using it to get to the Port of Virginia even if it was completed.  And traffic volumes by far don't even come close to warranting 4-lanes.  Virginia has other 2-lane segments far more in need of 4-laning than VA 55.

Same reasoning that Montgomery County, Md. politicians use to oppose new crossings of the Potomac River - it "only benefits Virginia."  We are a United States, and that kind of thinking should (IMO) be dismissed. 

Regarding four lane divided versus two lanes - most U.S. drivers do not know how to drive on a Super-2 type highway any longer (the old West Virginia Turnpike was a Super-2 for many years, and  had a pretty bad crash rate, as were the I-695 approaches to the Francis Scott Key Bridge), because such roads are rare in the U.S. and Canada.

That's also why I dislike the two-way operation on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge so much. 

[agentsteel53]

Regarding four lane divided versus two lanes - most U.S. drivers do not know how to drive on a Super-2 type highway any longer (the old West Virginia Turnpike was a Super-2 for many years, and  had a pretty bad crash rate, as were the I-695 approaches to the Francis Scott Key Bridge), because such roads are rare in the U.S. and Canada.

what is so different about it it, with respect to a regular two-lane? 

[cpzilliacus]

Regarding four lane divided versus two lanes - most U.S. drivers do not know how to drive on a Super-2 type highway any longer (the old West Virginia Turnpike was a Super-2 for many years, and  had a pretty bad crash rate, as were the I-695 approaches to the Francis Scott Key Bridge), because such roads are rare in the U.S. and Canada.

what is so different about it it, with respect to a regular two-lane? 

(1) Higher speeds.

(2) More than a few drivers forget that they are on a two-lane highway (and not a four lane).  When I-95 was first completed from Bangor, Maine to Houlton, it was also a Super-2 (except at the interchanges).  There were many signs warning drivers that they were on a two-lane highway.

Md. 90 (Ocean City Expressway) in Worcester County is almost a Super-2, and has suffered plenty of head-on crashes, even with mandatory headlight use and special "rumble" treatment in the middle. 

[agentsteel53]

(1) Higher speeds.

got it.  I think I'm just used to two-laners out west which may as well be super-2 given the lack of side roads. 

[1995hoo]

I think a lot of drivers, at least here on the East Coast, seem to have forgotten, or never learned, how to pass on two-lane roads, regardless of whether it's a "Super-2" or a regular old two-lane road. No doubt part of this may be due to a higher percentage of drivers hailing from, and learning to drive in, urban areas and not encountering two-lane roads nearly as often as was the case even 25 years ago. But I'm rather astonished whenever I drive on a two-lane road nowadays (other than a twisty mountain road) and I see how far back people stay even when the guy in front is a slowpoke. The reason it astonishes me is that on the Interstate or in urban areas, the same people are the ones glued to your rear bumper even if there's nowhere you can go. On a two-lane road it can sometimes be darn difficult to pass if you don't close up the gap first. I sometimes wonder how much of this is also a function of the prevalence of automatic-transmission vehicles simply in terms of many drivers not having the sense for understanding how the car's gearing can help execute the pass when necessary.

Even my wife seems guilty of it....this past weekend whenever I pulled out to pass on a two-lane road (main instances being Friday on US-220 between Cumberland, MD, and Bedford, PA, which gets a fair amount of tractor-trailer traffic) she seemed not to like it at all, even though I wasn't going terribly fast (60 to 65 in a 55 zone). I don't see what the big deal is.

One of the things that irks me about typical US road design is that two-lane roads often have a relatively narrow shoulder (if they have one at all), and even when there is a shoulder, the vast majority of drivers refuse to move to the right while maintaining speed to help others pass. I encountered several situations on Monday on US-219 in far western Maryland where truck drivers easily could have moved to the right halfway onto the shoulder to help let the long line of cars get by, but failed to do so. In Canada and the parts of Mexico I've visited, it's a given that people do that, especially truck and RV drivers.

Anyway, returning to Corridor H, if/when the West Virginia portion is ever finished, I'll be interested in seeing to what extent it siphons off any long-distance traffic that currently uses I-70 to I-68; going to southern Ohio, for example, it's easy to use Corridor H, I-79, and Corridor D, and for travel to Charleston and beyond out I-64 I could certainly see Corridor H to southbound I-79 being preferable to mixing it up with all the trucks on I-81. I wonder to what extent people see the US shield instead of the Interstate shield and automatically rule it out as an option because they assume it will be a slow road riddled with traffic lights. Of course, if the Virginia portion stays as it is today you'll have people who won't consider going that way just because they automatically rule out two-lane roads. I've given people directions to various places over the years using two-lane roads and many of them have objected because they assume the two-lane roads will be too slow (though the funny thing there is that with the route I use between Fairfax County and Charlottesville–the one via Fredericksburg, Orange and Gordonsville, emerging at Shadwell–the two-lane portions move along a lot better than the I-95 portion most of the time).

[cpzilliacus]

I think a lot of drivers, at least here on the East Coast, seem to have forgotten, or never learned, how to pass on two-lane roads, regardless of whether it's a "Super-2" or a regular old two-lane road. No doubt part of this may be due to a higher percentage of drivers hailing from, and learning to drive in, urban areas and not encountering two-lane roads nearly as often as was the case even 25 years ago. But I'm rather astonished whenever I drive on a two-lane road nowadays (other than a twisty mountain road) and I see how far back people stay even when the guy in front is a slowpoke. The reason it astonishes me is that on the Interstate or in urban areas, the same people are the ones glued to your rear bumper even if there's nowhere you can go. On a two-lane road it can sometimes be darn difficult to pass if you don't close up the gap first. I sometimes wonder how much of this is also a function of the prevalence of automatic-transmission vehicles simply in terms of many drivers not having the sense for understanding how the car's gearing can help execute the pass when necessary.

I believe this is correct.  At least among drivers who spend most of their time behind the wheel on divided highways of four or more lanes.  Busy high-speed two lane roads are increasingly rare.  MdTA added two lanes on the west side approach on 695 to the F. S. Key Bridge in the 1980's, and in the late 1990's, they reconstructed the east side approach (past the now-defunct Sparrows Point steel mill) to four lanes. 

The busiest high(er)-speed two lane roads anywhere close to Washington, D.C. that I can think of are U.S. 15 and parts of U.S. 50 in Loudoun County, Va.; U.S. 15 in Frederick County, Md. (between U.S. 340 and Point of Rocks); U.S. 340 between Harpers Ferry, W.Va. and Knoxville, Md. (passes through a small slice of Loudoun County); Md. 2 between Md. 4 in Calvert County and Edgewater - there are a lot of bad wrecks along this road); Md. 27 between I-270 and Westminster; Md. 32 between Clarksville and Sykesville in Howard County; and Md. 404 between U.S. 50 and the Delaware border on the Eastern Shore (Md. 404 is slowly morphing into a four lane divided highway).

Even my wife seems guilty of it....this past weekend whenever I pulled out to pass on a two-lane road (main instances being Friday on US-220 between Cumberland, MD, and Bedford, PA, which gets a fair amount of tractor-trailer traffic) she seemed not to like it at all, even though I wasn't going terribly fast (60 to 65 in a 55 zone). I don't see what the big deal is.

It takes experience and some teaching to learn how to pass on a two-lane highway.  If she's not used to it, I can understand her concern.

One of the things that irks me about typical US road design is that two-lane roads often have a relatively narrow shoulder (if they have one at all), and even when there is a shoulder, the vast majority of drivers refuse to move to the right while maintaining speed to help others pass. I encountered several situations on Monday on US-219 in far western Maryland where truck drivers easily could have moved to the right halfway onto the shoulder to help let the long line of cars get by, but failed to do so. In Canada and the parts of Mexico I've visited, it's a given that people do that, especially truck and RV drivers.

In part because the shoulders, though they are usually paved, are not full-depth (in terms of subgrade), so their use for anything except breakdowns is discouraged or in some states illegal. 

Anyway, returning to Corridor H, if/when the West Virginia portion is ever finished, I'll be interested in seeing to what extent it siphons off any long-distance traffic that currently uses I-70 to I-68; going to southern Ohio, for example, it's easy to use Corridor H, I-79, and Corridor D, and for travel to Charleston and beyond out I-64 I could certainly see Corridor H to southbound I-79 being preferable to mixing it up with all the trucks on I-81. I wonder to what extent people see the US shield instead of the Interstate shield and automatically rule it out as an option because they assume it will be a slow road riddled with traffic lights. Of course, if the Virginia portion stays as it is today you'll have people who won't consider going that way just because they automatically rule out two-lane roads. I've given people directions to various places over the years using two-lane roads and many of them have objected because they assume the two-lane roads will be too slow (though the funny thing there is that with the route I use between Fairfax County and Charlottesville–the one via Fredericksburg, Orange and Gordonsville, emerging at Shadwell–the two-lane portions move along a lot better than the I-95 portion most of the time).

I have driven Va. 3 and (mostly) Va. 20 from Fredericksburg to Charlottesville, and it seemed to have very little traffic moving along at decent enough speeds, though I recall the local law enforcement doing some radar checks of passing traffic in a few places.

More than a few drivers will reject a non-freeway route, or, as you suggest above, a route which  has two-lane roads (and it's not much  fun stuck behind a truckload of logs or finished lumber on a steep grade like Va./W.Va. 55/U.S. 48 between Strasburg and Wardensville.

[agentsteel53]

Busy high-speed two lane roads are increasingly rare.

and here I am thinking of just how awfully many of them there are.  out here, it is CA-138.  in Pennsylvania, it is US-6.  Mass. has particular segments of MA-2.  just slogging roads with a high speed limit that is never met in real life. 

[1995hoo]

....

Even my wife seems guilty of it....this past weekend whenever I pulled out to pass on a two-lane road (main instances being Friday on US-220 between Cumberland, MD, and Bedford, PA, which gets a fair amount of tractor-trailer traffic) she seemed not to like it at all, even though I wasn't going terribly fast (60 to 65 in a 55 zone). I don't see what the big deal is.

It takes experience and some teaching to learn how to pass on a two-lane highway.  If she's not used to it, I can understand her concern.

....

That's the weird part: She's a couple of years older than I am and she grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and drove on lots of two-lane roads, so you'd think she'd be used to it. Maybe living in the DC area and driving a lot less than I do has caused her passing skills to get rusty!

[cpzilliacus]

I understand that some time ago, W.Va. was seeking money from DHS to complete the road, on the basis that it would serve as an emergency evac. route out of the D.C. Metro area in case SHTF... (Do we need all of those city folk coming out into our neck of the woods?)

When the segment from Moorefield over to Knobley Rd opened a couple years ago, there were several officials at the dedication ceremony (I was present) that used the "emergency evacuation route" line in promoting the corridor's completion.

"Emergency evacuation" was also the excuse for jamming down Arlington's throats a few miles of auxiliary lanes on westbound I-66 inside the Capital Beltway.  I was one of the few in Arlington to support the project, but I found the evacuation excuse unconvincing there, as I do for Corridor H. 

You did not get banished from Arlington County for uttering such heresy?

[cpzilliacus]

....

Even my wife seems guilty of it....this past weekend whenever I pulled out to pass on a two-lane road (main instances being Friday on US-220 between Cumberland, MD, and Bedford, PA, which gets a fair amount of tractor-trailer traffic) she seemed not to like it at all, even though I wasn't going terribly fast (60 to 65 in a 55 zone). I don't see what the big deal is.

It takes experience and some teaching to learn how to pass on a two-lane highway.  If she's not used to it, I can understand her concern.

....

That's the weird part: She's a couple of years older than I am and she grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and drove on lots of two-lane roads, so you'd think she'd be used to it. Maybe living in the DC area and driving a lot less than I do has caused her passing skills to get rusty!

I think it takes practice to be able to safely execute passing on a 2 lane arterial highway.

Such roads (often  serving as what we in the U.S. would classify  as a principal arterial) are pretty common in Finland and  Sweden (and they  have relatively  more Super-2's as well), so drivers (including truck and bus drivers) know how to safely pass on them. 

Though a relative of mine (a good and experienced driver) was badly injured in a head-on wreck on a Nordic Super-2 many years ago (he is fine now).