Interstate Cooperation at its finest!

[hbelkins]

WV-9 (Charles Town Pike) in Jefferson County (far east edge of the state) is a modern four lane divided road until it climbs up to the crest of the Blue Ridge at Keys Gap and the border with Loudoun County, Virginia, where the road becomes VA-9, a rural arterial with plenty of traffic. 

There was no interest in widening or improving VA-9, so it's the narrow and crash-prone road that it has been for as long as I can remember.

I used to follow that every day from Charles Town to Leesburg. I don't recall too many accidents but a lot of congestion on the Virginia side especially during rush hour when it is a solid line of traffic to Virginia or DC in the morning and to WV in the evening. The worst was the backup at the intersection with VA-287 (Berlin Turnpike).


iPhone

An obvious -- and prime -- example of VA dragging its feet regarding a multistate project is Corridor H.  4-laning ends well west of the WV/VA line, although VADOT did erect US 48 signage along the 2-lane VA 55.  But plans to upgrade its section of the corridor seem to be either nonexistent or back-burnered, probably because the corridor's presence principally benefits WV more than VA.  Even with the relatively stretched-out/leisurely pace projected for the Kerens to Davis portion along US 219, the WV segment west of Wardensville will in all likelihood be up and running before WV/VA 55 from that town to I-81 sees upgrades consistent with the remainder of the corridor; looks like WVDOT has no intention of extending the expressway east until VA commits to like action on its portion.

It's been mentioned frequently that the inland port near Front Royal would benefit greatly from the completion of Corridor H.

Part of the problem with West Virginia building beyond the current end of the expressway near Wardensville is that it may not be possible to build a segment of independent use that would connect with existing US 48/WV 55. And it would also take away that revenue cash cow for the local constabulary that is the 25 mph speed limit through Wardensville. GPS units are already beginning to route traffic between this area and DC via Corridor H, so I'd think the opportunities to write speeding tickets to out-of-staters are increasing.

One thing WV needs to do is realign the intersection with WV 259 to increase sight distance for westbound US 48 drivers, if not make US 48 the through route and make WV 259 traffic have to stop.

[Super Mateo]

A better example involving Virginia would be US 15...

Virginia would like to 4-lane it north of Leesburg but Maryland has no interest in 4-laning their part (despite much of it being quasi super-2 with ROW in place for 4 lanes).  IIRC after many years of waiting on Maryland to change its mind, Virginia is looking at 4 laning about half the distance to the state line as this section of US 15 has a fair number of crashes.

Didn't stop them from 4-laning US-501 down to the North Carolina state line only to quickly reduce to 2-lanes south of the border in the 1970s.

Then you have the flip side where US 17 was 4-laned on the NC side for years...

US 52 is a divided four lane highway on the NC side, while it's a simple 2 lane road on the VA side.

[US 89]

Not in the US, but the worst example of something like this I've ever seen is the west end of the A1 highway in Algeria.

[ftballfan]

Not in the US, but the worst example of something like this I've ever seen is the west end of the A1 highway in Algeria.

Algeria and Morocco don't get along very well. I know the land borders between the two were (or might still be) closed. However, there are direct flights between the two countries.

[Beltway]

US 52 is a divided four lane highway on the NC side, while it's a simple 2 lane road on the VA side.

6,900 AADT at the border, and not an arterial.  Doesn't need more than 2 lanes.

[sprjus4]

US 52 is a divided four lane highway on the NC side, while it's a simple 2 lane road on the VA side.

6,900 AADT at the border, and not an arterial.  Doesn't need more than 2 lanes.

With the completion of the I-74 segment between I-77 and the US-52 freeway southeast of Mt. Airy just south of the Virginia border in the 1990s, this further eliminates its usage as a long-distance route as US-52 freeway traffic coming from Winston-Salem now has a direct link to I-77 to continue north on all freeway.

[cpzilliacus]

It's been mentioned frequently that the inland port near Front Royal would benefit greatly from the completion of Corridor H.

Part of the problem with West Virginia building beyond the current end of the expressway near Wardensville is that it may not be possible to build a segment of independent use that would connect with existing US 48/WV 55. And it would also take away that revenue cash cow for the local constabulary that is the 25 mph speed limit through Wardensville. GPS units are already beginning to route traffic between this area and DC via Corridor H, so I'd think the opportunities to write speeding tickets to out-of-staters are increasing.

One thing WV needs to do is realign the intersection with WV 259 to increase sight distance for westbound US 48 drivers, if not make US 48 the through route and make WV 259 traffic have to stop.

Agree about Corridor H.  It makes large areas of West Virginia and probably Ohio closer to the Inland Port.

Regarding Wardensville, I have heard several people say that the speed limit there is strictly enforced, but I do not think I have ever seen any speed limit enforcement going on there.  That does not mean that there the limit is not enforced, but I have not noticed it.

I think I saw someplace that Corridor H between its current eastern terminus and the top of the mountain at the border with Virginia is in either preliminary engineering or maybe final design.  The WVDOT Corridor H Web site appears to be down, so I cannot consult it right now.

[sprjus4]

https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/closed/CorridorH-WardensvilletoVaLine/Pages/default.aspx

As of 2018, the schedule was to complete the Environmental Re-Evaluation 2018 - 2019, then to begin Final Design in 2020.

Right of way acquisition would begin in 2025, and construction on the $70 million project would begin by 2027 between the current eastern end of the expressway to the Virginia state line.

Proposed location is a 4-lane expressway to the south of the town, with what appears to be one diamond interchange at Trout Run Rd, and a quadrant interchange with where the old route would split off on the western end. The remaining intersections are at-grade.

https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/closed/CorridorH-WardensvilletoVaLine/ProjectDocuments/Wardensville_Virginia_PreferredAlt_Final.pdf
https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/closed/CorridorH-WardensvilletoVaLine/ProjectDocuments/Corr_H_Wardensville_Public_Mtg_Handout_Final.pdf

[ClaytonCarte]

US 23 / 441 is a four-lane corridor from I-985 to the Great Smoky Mountains except for one last remaining 7.4 mile segment from Clayton, Georgia to the North Carolina state line. Georgia DOT plans to advertise the project for construction in April 2021.

Project info: http://www.dot.ga.gov/applications/geopi/Pages/Dashboard.aspx?ProjectID=122090-


iPhone

[Bickendan]

Not in the US, but the worst example of something like this I've ever seen is the west end of the A1 highway in Algeria.

I see your Algerian A1 and raise you China G1012, with a concession that G1012 isn't built up as a motorway to the river, where it abruptly stops before crossing into Russia.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=12/48.3222/134.6926

[hbelkins]

US 52 is a divided four lane highway on the NC side, while it's a simple 2 lane road on the VA side.

6,900 AADT at the border, and not an arterial.  Doesn't need more than 2 lanes.

With the completion of the I-74 segment between I-77 and the US-52 freeway southeast of Mt. Airy just south of the Virginia border in the 1990s, this further eliminates its usage as a long-distance route as US-52 freeway traffic coming from Winston-Salem now has a direct link to I-77 to continue north on all freeway.

Virginia has also done away with the truck escape ramps that were present for southbound traffic before the I-74 connector was built. They're still visible, but they are overgrown, not maintained, and not signed. IIRC trucks are now prohibited on that segment at Fancy Gap now, and must use I-77.

[RobbieL2415]

I can think of a couple:

US 1 at the PA/MD border.  A full 4 lane freeway on the PA side with a 55 (should be 65) MPH speed limit.  A 2 lane undivided road on the MD side with a 50 MPH speed limit in most instances. 

The east end of the CT Turnpike.  The freeway ends suddenly at the RI border.  The eastern stub (SR 695) became part of the proposed I-84 to Providence that NIMBY's killed, so it remains a dead end to this day.

Legend has it that at one point RIDOT wanted I-95 to stay with the Turnpike past Norwich and take a more northerly route through the state.

[kurumi]

I can think of a couple:

US 1 at the PA/MD border.  A full 4 lane freeway on the PA side with a 55 (should be 65) MPH speed limit.  A 2 lane undivided road on the MD side with a 50 MPH speed limit in most instances. 

The east end of the CT Turnpike.  The freeway ends suddenly at the RI border.  The eastern stub (SR 695) became part of the proposed I-84 to Providence that NIMBY's killed, so it remains a dead end to this day.

Legend has it that at one point RIDOT wanted I-95 to stay with the Turnpike past Norwich and take a more northerly route through the state.

You're right in that there was an apparent dispute, but it was CTDOT favoring I-95 through Killingly and RIDOT wanting the southerly route. Rhode Island prevailed. At stake was more or fewer interstate miles in each state.

[hobsini2]

Not in the US, but the worst example of something like this I've ever seen is the west end of the A1 highway in Algeria.

Algeria and Morocco don't get along very well. I know the land borders between the two were (or might still be) closed. However, there are direct flights between the two countries.

I wonder if the thought was to connect with Morocco's A2. It looks to be in line a few miles away.