West Virginia

[froggie]

That would be why.  My version of Firefox throws everything from Facebook into a separate security bin due to how tracker-ridden Facebook has become.  I'm not surprised.

[seicer]

I don't have a "roadgeeking" site anymore other than my dedicated site for bridges and tunnels, so I'll try a different host (perhaps Imgur) for the future.

[hbelkins]

Interestingly, WVDOH chose to close down one direction of the highway for paving at a time instead of phasing it out as is more typically done.

That's a blast from the past.  Those closures were common for DOH back in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s.  It was funny to see a bunch of leftover crossovers scattered up and down the medians near bridges (mostly underpasses), some of them with pavement still intact.  In some cases, those crossovers dammed up the median at certain places.  I vaguely remember one location on I-79 that stayed around so long that it was reused for a bridge reconstruction (probably in the early 1990s, IIRC).

Tons of permanent crossovers on I-64 between the state line and WV 10. Mostly for bridge work, I presume.

[GCrites]

Ohio usually removes those when the project is over but not always.

[GCrites]

Interstate 64 is being widened to six and eight lanes through Barboursville. When complete, Interstate 64 will be six lanes from milepost 21 (past Exit 20/Mall Road) to Exit 10/WV Route 10/Huntington.

Of interest is the Merritt Creek bridge, which was built circa 1959 over Merritt Creek Road and Merritt Creek. When WV Route 193 was built in 2000, replacing Merritt Creek Road as the through route, the creek was placed into a culvert. The new bridge over WV Route 193 is much shorter as it now just needs to cross over the highway.

This is a view of Merritt Creek Road to the left and its replacement, WV Route 193, to the right. The four-lane expressway was built in 2000 and could lead to the development of an eastern highway crossing of Huntington.

I guess the highway is called the Big Ben Bowen Highway now? I remember it being called the Merrick Creek Parkway in the early to mid 2000s when it stopped after only 1/4 mile or so at the entrance to the Home Depot. Looks like it was completely finished by 2009.

[seicer]

Interestingly, WVDOH chose to close down one direction of the highway for paving at a time instead of phasing it out as is more typically done.

That's a blast from the past.  Those closures were common for DOH back in the late 1970s and most of the 1980s.  It was funny to see a bunch of leftover crossovers scattered up and down the medians near bridges (mostly underpasses), some of them with pavement still intact.  In some cases, those crossovers dammed up the median at certain places.  I vaguely remember one location on I-79 that stayed around so long that it was reused for a bridge reconstruction (probably in the early 1990s, IIRC).

Tons of permanent crossovers on I-64 between the state line and WV 10. Mostly for bridge work, I presume.

I remember the crossovers being built between Exit 1 and Exit 6 on Interstate 64 for bridge replacements. Others further east were later obliterated when the roadway was widened to six lanes.

[hbelkins]

Interstate 64 is being widened to six and eight lanes through Barboursville. When complete, Interstate 64 will be six lanes from milepost 21 (past Exit 20/Mall Road) to Exit 10/WV Route 10/Huntington.

Of interest is the Merritt Creek bridge, which was built circa 1959 over Merritt Creek Road and Merritt Creek. When WV Route 193 was built in 2000, replacing Merritt Creek Road as the through route, the creek was placed into a culvert. The new bridge over WV Route 193 is much shorter as it now just needs to cross over the highway.

I don't remember that short extension beyond US 60. When was that built?

[GCrites]

I remember they were still working on it in 2018. Some kind of development project with multiple uses.

edit: here's 2018

https://www.google.com/maps/place/US-60+%26+WV-193,+Barboursville,+WV+25504/@38.4158355,-82.2906314,3a,75y,238.62h,86.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spnSwju15VtkBlCgbUhGH0g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x884600b9e33e7b1b:0xe4956bc5e339a844!8m2!3d38.41586!4d-82.2906062

[BrianP]

And finished by the end of 2019.

[I-55]

Interstate 64 is being widened to six and eight lanes through Barboursville. When complete, Interstate 64 will be six lanes from milepost 21 (past Exit 20/Mall Road) to Exit 10/WV Route 10/Huntington.

Of interest is the Merritt Creek bridge, which was built circa 1959 over Merritt Creek Road and Merritt Creek. When WV Route 193 was built in 2000, replacing Merritt Creek Road as the through route, the creek was placed into a culvert. The new bridge over WV Route 193 is much shorter as it now just needs to cross over the highway.

I don't remember that short extension beyond US 60. When was that built?

It's a development called Tanyard Station, developed by the same group that did Merritt Creek Farm. First I heard of it was about a week or two ago. They took the old CSX yard and commercialized it circa 2018. When I was younger I used to watch CSX trains from Chesapeake St, and you couldn't see much beyond the tracks, now I imagine you can see into the development pretty well.

You can find pictures, video, and info here

The updated traffic signal and streetview of the commercial area can be seen  here

Local news stories also have more pictures if you're interested.

[SP Cook]

https://wvmetronews.com/2020/12/22/new-river-gorge-on-its-way-to-national-park-preserve-designation/

And America will soon have a new National Park.

The actual park will consist of 4 units.  The lower gorge, which is the immediate area of the New River Gorge bridge, and theoretically the bridge itself, including the current visitors center just off Corridor L; the ghost town of Thurmond, also accessible from L a few miles south; the Grandview overlook, accessible from I 64, and Sandstone Falls, just off I 64.  This area will be limited to whitewater rafting, fishing, and hiking, and the road down the gorge under the bridge will remain open under federal control.

The Preserve will be all the federal land from just below Hinton to the Hawks Nest tunnel.  This area will remain open to hunting and camping, which was an issue which kept the park from being larger.  The private land in the preserve will be acquired on the open market over time, not condemned.  About 100 acres will be bought for parking and buildings.  Existing mineral leases in the Preserve will remain valid.

Really not much more than some signage changes, but still this will be West Virginia's first true national park and the country's 64th.

[seicer]

Technically, it was a National River which is a unit of the National Park Service. The new designation ups it to a National Park and Preserve, and it seems not much will change on the surface. I think this changes the focus - instead of just conserving and enhancing activities along the river, it will bring more focus on its other unique characteristics and develop those further. There is so much more to New River Gorge than just the four units which remain fairly separated and disjointed. How cool will it be if they were interconnected with backpacking trails? Remote camps?

From the article: "Also there will be no admission charge like there is at some national parks."

Unlike other national parks developed with particular entries that can be controlled, New River Gorge was never developed with the hindsight that it would ever be developed into a recreational area. It had been decimated by mining and coke production for decades. It's a miracle that the area has recovered as quickly as it has without any major lasting impacts ecologically.

[Dirt Roads]

https://wvmetronews.com/2020/12/22/new-river-gorge-on-its-way-to-national-park-preserve-designation/

And America will soon have a new National Park.

The actual park will consist of 4 units.  The lower gorge, which is the immediate area of the New River Gorge bridge, and theoretically the bridge itself, including the current visitors center just off Corridor L; the ghost town of Thurmond, also accessible from L a few miles south; the Grandview overlook, accessible from I 64, and Sandstone Falls, just off I 64.  This area will be limited to whitewater rafting, fishing, and hiking, and the road down the gorge under the bridge will remain open under federal control.  <snipped>

One of the best parts of my career was the Summer of 1987 spent cleaning up after the Great Floods of 1985.  The work was all along the New River, James River, Potomac River and Wills Creek in Pennsylvania (north of Cumberland, Maryland).  I was able to drive into everything on the others, but the New River Gorge was almost entirely accessible only by rail.  The [railway] signal maintainers in Fayette (you know it as North Fayette Station), Thurmond and Hinton had hy-rail trucks, but the maintainer at Prince (Amtrak station for Beckley) still had an old-fashioned track car that was equipped with a modern riding mower engine.  It was great hy-railing alongside all of the whitewater rafters and kayakers.

[Rothman]

In Floyd County, KY, you could tell how high the flood was by how high the toilet paper was in the trees...

[Dirt Roads]

One of the best parts of my career was the Summer of 1987 spent cleaning up after the Great Floods of 1985.  The work was all along the New River, James River, Potomac River and Wills Creek in Pennsylvania (north of Cumberland, Maryland).

In Floyd County, KY, you could tell how high the flood was by how high the toilet paper was in the trees...

Oh gosh, yes.  On the James River (somewhere north of Big Island, Virginia) there was a section of trailers along the river that got wiped out.  Two years later, the trees along the road leading down to the railroad still had toilet seats, door frames, broken windows and lots of roofing paper hanging in them.  Along the New River, the devastation was primarily on the railroad itself.  There was only one person living in the New River Gorge between Meadow Creek and Thurmond, and she didn't have much problem.  I'm amazed that the ghost town in Thurmond wasn't destroyed.  (There were a few families living in Thurmond back then, don't know about now).

[roadwaywiz95]

Our next installment in the "Virtual Tour" series is scheduled to take place on Saturday (1/30) at 6 PM ET. Come join me and members of the AARoads community as we profile Corridor H of the Appalachian Development Highway System (US Route 48) and discuss the history, current events, and features of this highway all while enjoying a real-time video trip along the length of the highway between Weston, WV and Strasburg, VA.

A link to the event location can be found below and we look forward to seeing you in attendance:

[roadwaywiz95]

Our next installment in the "Virtual Tour" series is scheduled to take place on Saturday (2/13) at 6 PM ET. Come join me and members of the AARoads community as we profile Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System (Interstate 68) and discuss the history and features of this highway all while enjoying a real-time video trip along the length of the highway between Morgantown, WV and Hancock, MD.

A link to the event location can be found below and we look forward to seeing you in attendance:

[The Ghostbuster]

Is West Virginia still planning to extend Interstate 68 westward, or is its terminus at Interstate 79 set in stone?

[Bitmapped]

Is West Virginia still planning to extend Interstate 68 westward, or is its terminus at Interstate 79 set in stone?

The project isn't going anywhere. It's not needed (corridor duplicates existing I-79/I-70 routing) and there's no money to pay for it.

[wriddle082]

Is West Virginia still planning to extend Interstate 68 westward, or is its terminus at Interstate 79 set in stone?

The project isn't going anywhere. It's not needed (corridor duplicates existing I-79/I-70 routing) and there's no money to pay for it.

This does bring up an interesting point:  are there any plans at all to at least improve any routes between Moundsville/Wheeling and the rest of the state, so it can be more easily reached without having to pass through PA or OH?  I know that it's pretty much a given that the eastern panhandle will forever be more easily accessed via passing through VA or MD, but I figured a better in-state northern panhandle connection was more doable.

[seicer]

I don't think so. There isn't anything long-term planned for US Route 250. It's a pretty slow road - twisty with a lot of grades, and it's not got a lot of traffic. I think an improved two-lane road (perhaps on a four-lane right-of-way) would suffice.

[SP Cook]

WV plates are valid in OH and PA, so there is really no need to waste any money on duplicating corridors already supplied with quality highways.

[Bitmapped]

Is West Virginia still planning to extend Interstate 68 westward, or is its terminus at Interstate 79 set in stone?

The project isn't going anywhere. It's not needed (corridor duplicates existing I-79/I-70 routing) and there's no money to pay for it.

This does bring up an interesting point:  are there any plans at all to at least improve any routes between Moundsville/Wheeling and the rest of the state, so it can be more easily reached without having to pass through PA or OH?  I know that it's pretty much a given that the eastern panhandle will forever be more easily accessed via passing through VA or MD, but I figured a better in-state northern panhandle connection was more doable.

WV 2 is slowly being upgraded to 4 lanes which will provide a connection via Parkersburg, but with OH 7 already being significantly upgraded and I-70/I-79 existing, there's no real reason to build a new all-WV alignment.

[Bitmapped]

Is West Virginia still planning to extend Interstate 68 westward, or is its terminus at Interstate 79 set in stone?

The project isn't going anywhere. It's not needed (corridor duplicates existing I-79/I-70 routing) and there's no money to pay for it.

This does bring up an interesting point:  are there any plans at all to at least improve any routes between Moundsville/Wheeling and the rest of the state, so it can be more easily reached without having to pass through PA or OH?  I know that it’s pretty much a given that the eastern panhandle will forever be more easily accessed via passing through VA or MD, but I figured a better in-state northern panhandle connection was more doable.

WV 2 is slowly being upgraded to 4 lanes which will provide a connection via Parkersburg, but with OH 7 already being significantly upgraded and I-70/I-79 existing, there's no real reason to build a new all-WV alignment.

I don't think so. There isn't anything long-term planned for US Route 250. It's a pretty slow road - twisty with a lot of grades, and it's not got a lot of traffic. I think an improved two-lane road (perhaps on a four-lane right-of-way) would suffice.

There's little of consequence on US 250 between Mannington and Moundsville. The biggest place is Cameron, population 843 (2019 estimate). Through traffic is non-existent, especially south of WV 891.

I could see spot upgrades in a couple places. Straightening US 250 where it runs along the ridgetops north of WV 891 would be nice, and it would help tie together a Moundsville-Waynesburg corridor via WV 891/PA 21 that would also benefit Cameron. South of Cameron, it's not worth doing anything.

[74/171FAN]

Stretching it a bit, I could maybe see some realignments on the northern part from WV 891 to Moundsville. WV 891 connects to PA 21, which is already a decent route over to Waynesburg. This would provide improved access to

Did you mean to add more here?