Hampton Roads to Davis, WV (7/31 - 8/4)

[Thing 342]

I'll be taking a trip with the family to a cabin outside of Davis, WV, leaving on 31 July. On the way up we plan to take US-17 and I-66 out to Strasburg, and then follow Corridor H and friends west to Davis. While there, we're planning on taking a trip out to Weston, hopefully getting the rest of Corridor H. I'm also trying to convince the rest to take a trip up to Pittsburgh (via US-219, US-40, and the MFE), but it doesn't seem likely. On the way back, we're planning to head south and use US-33, US-220, and US-250 to get to I-64 in Staunton and head home, netting a few more counties (Pendleton, WV and Highland, VA) in the process.

[Thing 342]

Well, I'm back after five days. We stayed in a cabin in the Canaan Valley, a cool place that I hope to visit again in the wintertime. On the way up on Friday we drove through Fredericksburg, where we stopped to have lunch. We continued up US-17 through Warrenton, to I-66 in Marshall, where we headed west towards I-81. We then used I-81 to get over to US-48 in Strasburg, which we then followed to its current end at WV-93 near Davis. We then followed WV-93 and WV-32 into the Canaan Valley. On Saturday, we stayed in town, visiting the two state parks (Blackwater Falls SP and Canaan Valley RSP) and nearly died on a hike down into the Blackwater Canyon (a drop of nearly 750 ft over about a quarter of a mile). On Sunday, we headed west to Weston to visit the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (not my idea), using WV-32 south to US-33 in Harman, and then US-33 and Corridor H through Elkins into Weston. On the way back, we took the same route, save for a lunch stop in Elkins. On Monday, We visited Seneca Rocks and Spruce Knob, using WV-32 again to US-33, this time going east to Seneca Rocks. We stopped at the visitor's center for a little bit and then climbed Spruce Knob (the highest peak in WV) using CR-33/4, FS-112, and FS-104. We stopped at the observation tower for a little bit, and then headed back down using FS-104, FS-112, FS-1, and CR-29, driving past Spruce Knob Lake, and the Gandy Creek camping area. We then drove back using US-33 and WV-32. We mostly took the same route home, except for a lunch stop in Warrenton.

New Routes Clinched: US-48, WV-32, US-15 BUS (Warrenton), US-17 BUS (Fredericksburg)

Random Thoughts:

• Why does the super-two section of Corridor H have a speed limit of 45 mph? It feels incredibly slow, especially when the final speed limit of that section will be 65 mph.
• What is the purpose of the US-33 expressway east of Elkins? It ends a mile before one enters town, and doesn't connect to anything else.
• US-33 could really use a bypass of Elkins proper, as it can get quite slow through there with a 25 mph speed limit and several stoplights.
• The western section of Corridor H has become infested with stoplights, which all seem to have long red times.
• What time was the western section of Corridor H built? I ask because there are still several button-copy signs standing along it.
• Why is WV-72 a state route south of US-219? It's barely paved and doesn't serve much traffic.

Photos of the trip can be found here: https://goo.gl/photos/bCKyVy4ZESvufYUHA

[SP Cook]

Random Thoughts:

• What is the purpose of the US-33 expressway east of Elkins? It ends a mile before one enters town, and doesn't connect to anything else.
• US-33 could really use a bypass of Elkins proper, as it can get quite slow through there with a 25 mph speed limit and several stoplights.
• The western section of Corridor H has become infested with stoplights, which all seem to have long red times.
• What time was the western section of Corridor H built? I ask because there are still several button-copy signs standing along it.

- The section of US 33 you are refering to is called "the racetrack".  It is the only part of the orignal route of Corridor H that got built.  This section was to be connected to the end of Corridor H on the west side of town by a northern bypass and then continue eastward until it hit 81, following more the route of US 33.  This led to lawsuits by a crowd that was screaming "North for H" claiming to advocate for the current more northerly route.  Then after H was rerouted, the same crowd then screamed "H NO" and there you go.  BANANAs.  So this lonely section just sits there as a kind of relic of what might have been.

- Infestation wth stoplights have, IMHO, absolutely killed not only H, but corridors G and L as well in WV.  It is the "something must be done" crowd.  A wreck at an intersection, caused by inattention, and the next thing you know that crew wants a stoplight.  The proper # of stoplights on all corridors in WV, IMHO, is zero.

- The western H was built from I-79 to the Upshur County line between 1972 and 76.  Other than a short section just east of that, openned in 1979, nothing more was done until the 90s, when it was completed to the outskirts of Elkins. [/list]

[hbelkins]

1.) Probably because it's a construction zone, or adjacent to one.
2.) It was originally built to be part of Corridor H before the US 33 alignment east of Elkins was abandoned in favor of the northern route.
3.) Agreed.
4.) Infested? I can only think of one at Weston (at the entrance to Sheetz) and one in Buckhannon.
5.) Late 70s, I think, for the westernmost portion; sometime in the late 80s/early 90s for the remainder on to the WV 92 intersection west of Elkins. I remember going on a family vacation in the early 80s and having to go through downtown Buckhannon.
6.) Not sure.

Why did you opt for the WV 32/US 33 routing both times, instead of using US 219 for a change of pace? I've driven both and prefer US 219.

[Thing 342]

4.) Infested? I can only think of one at Weston (at the entrance to Sheetz) and one in Buckhannon.

I counted at least five between Elkins and Weston: one where WV-92 joins (was a flasher, now a full signal), one where US-250 and WV-92 leave, one at CR-7 near Buckhannon,  one at CR-13 near Weston, and one at I-79. Granted, it's not stop-and-go, but it really defeats the point of the road being an expressway.

Why did you opt for the WV 32/US 33 routing both times, instead of using US 219 for a change of pace? I've driven both and prefer US 219.

It added an extra 45 min to our route (we were staying 15 min south of Davis), and I was travelling with my family, who generally dislike going out of the way.

[hbelkins]

I don't remember a light at I-79, and Google satellite view doesn't show one. And the light at WV 92 is definitely new.

Staying that far south of Davis does make travel to Elkins via US 219 impractical.

[Thing 342]

I don't remember a light at I-79, and Google satellite view doesn't show one. And the light at WV 92 is definitely new.

Staying that far south of Davis does make travel to Elkins via US 219 impractical.

GMSV doesn't show it either, but I remember it being there.