West Virginia

[The_Ginger]

I did a quick export of proposed highways from WVDOT's GIS data: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Ln0FvUITN7_M18kVHbm-m3SVr76070k
This has the full alignments of proposed 48, 52, 121, 154, and other shorter projects (including a bunch of bridge realignments that have been built).

I've also seen this. It's really neat to see all of these on a map, there's a few I didn't catch. The most interesting one has to be the entire US 522 4-lane. As far as I know, there's no plans to do such a thing, aside from the Berkeley Springs Bypass.

[The_Ginger]

Informative video about why I-68 hasn't been extended.

[Beltway]

Informative video about why I-68 hasn't been extended.

I-68 is ADHS Appalachian Corridor E that was authorized in 1965. No Extension west of I-79 was planned and there would be very low volumes.

[The_Ginger]

Informative video about why I-68 hasn't been extended.

I-68 is ADHS Appalachian Corridor E that was authorized in 1965. No Extension west of I-79 was planned and there would be very low volumes.

Yes, that's pretty much what the video said. However, the creator was in favor of an extension to Moundsville that ran close to the Penn. border. He also mentioned the new Energy-Manufacturing-AI name that has been discussed here before. It's possible he read our discussions in this very thread.

[SP Cook]

The video is pretty fair, but the correct statement is that this is Corridor E, which was intended to run from I-70 to I-79, which I this to I that is what most Appalachian Corridors do.  As such, it pretty much does its job, opening up access and improving the lives of people in rural western Maryland and Preston County, WV; and allowing a reasonable access to the main part of WV, especially including WVU, for people in the eastern panhandle.

An extension has been a thing bounced around by the Morgantown gentry for many years.  The objections outlined remain true.  It passed through a very rugged area with little population and little potential for (above ground) economic development, which is riddled with gas wells (which of course a fully limited access highway would serve no purpose to oil and gas well servicing vehicles, which would remain on the local roads), and most importantly cut, what, 8 or 10 miles off the existing I-79N-I-70W road, a road that is long completed, and not particularly busy, certainly not busy enough to justify building an expensive alternative going to the exact same place. 

Maryland's silly sign about "Ohio and the West"  (what is the "west" to Maryland?   Indiana? ) is rightly ridiculed by a lot of YouTubers, but if someone wants to "shunpike" the PA Turnpike by using 68, they can, and there is also the option of going south to Corridor D and so on to the "west". 

But the point is simple.  Corridor E connects 70 to 79, and helps the people along its route have better lives.  It was never designed to be more than that.

[hbelkins]

Maryland's silly sign about "Ohio and the West"  (what is the "west" to Maryland?   Indiana? ) is rightly ridiculed by a lot of YouTubers, but if someone wants to "shunpike" the PA Turnpike by using 68, they can, and there is also the option of going south to Corridor D and so on to the "west".

I've often wondered what Pennsylvania in general and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in particular did to tick Maryland off the point that it would install that sign.

Are Maryland and Pennsylvania rivals or competitors in such a way that Maryland would erect such a sign to funnel traffic off the Pennsylvania Turnpike? (And out of Breezewood?)

Seems Maryland might be more effective with such messaging to draw traffic off the turnpike and onto I-68 would be "Save XXX in tolls, take I-68 west to I-79 north."

[The_Ginger]

Maryland's silly sign about "Ohio and the West"  (what is the "west" to Maryland?   Indiana? ) is rightly ridiculed by a lot of YouTubers, but if someone wants to "shunpike" the PA Turnpike by using 68, they can, and there is also the option of going south to Corridor D and so on to the "west".

I've often wondered what Pennsylvania in general and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in particular did to tick Maryland off the point that it would install that sign.

Are Maryland and Pennsylvania rivals or competitors in such a way that Maryland would erect such a sign to funnel traffic off the Pennsylvania Turnpike? (And out of Breezewood?)

Seems Maryland might be more effective with such messaging to draw traffic off the turnpike and onto I-68 would be "Save XXX in tolls, take I-68 west to I-79 north."

Where is this Ohio & The West sign located?

[Mapmikey]

Where is this Ohio & The West sign located?

10 miles east of the I-68/70 jct.  Just west of the MD 56 exit:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/43vwkrULE7wKiQHD7

[Mr_Northside]

I've often wondered what Pennsylvania in general and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in particular did to tick Maryland off the point that it would install that sign.

Are Maryland and Pennsylvania rivals or competitors in such a way that Maryland would erect such a sign to funnel traffic off the Pennsylvania Turnpike? (And out of Breezewood?)

Seems Maryland might be more effective with such messaging to draw traffic off the turnpike and onto I-68 would be "Save XXX in tolls, take I-68 west to I-79 north."

I don't know that it was truly an anti-PA/PTC move - I figured they thought since they spent all the money to build I-68, might as well entice long-distance travelers to utilize it.  Possibly give people a taste of western MD (if even a few people think "Hey, I'll try to visit this Deep Creek Lake sometime in the future and check it out".... that can't be bad)

[Beltway]

Maryland's silly sign about "Ohio and the West"  (what is the "west" to Maryland?  Indiana? ) is rightly ridiculed by a lot of YouTubers, but if someone wants to "shunpike" the PA Turnpike by using 68, they can, and there is also the option of going south to Corridor D and so on to the "west".  But the point is simple.  Corridor E connects 70 to 79, and helps the people along its route have better lives.  It was never designed to be more than that.

Ohio and points west. Corridor E in conjunction with I-79 and Corridor D does provide expressway level service to I-275 at Cincinnati, and from there you can branch to I-71 and I-74 to go further west.

So it may have been the Appalachian Regional Commission wanting to promote recognition of two of their corridors.

[Dirt Roads]

Maryland's silly sign about "Ohio and the West"  (what is the "west" to Maryland?  Indiana? ) is rightly ridiculed by a lot of YouTubers, but if someone wants to "shunpike" the PA Turnpike by using 68, they can, and there is also the option of going south to Corridor D and so on to the "west".  But the point is simple.  Corridor E connects 70 to 79, and helps the people along its route have better lives.  It was never designed to be more than that.

Ohio and points west. Corridor E in conjunction with I-79 and Corridor D does provide expressway level service to I-275 at Cincinnati, and from there you can branch to I-71 and I-74 to go further west. 

So it may have been the Appalachian Regional Commission wanting to promote recognition of two of their corridors.

For the record, neither Google nor AppleMaps show I-70 through Breezewood as travel options anymore.  The route using US-40 from Keysers Ridge to the Mon-Fayette is shorter than the I-68 -to- I-79 routing, but both have almost identical trip times. 

For the record, fiddling with AppleMaps reveals that all I-70 routing is only 7 miles longer than using the US-40 overland routing (and 14 miles shorter than using I-68//I-79), with all three routings having nearly identical triptimes.  Google Maps punted several times, but eventually offered a secondary route using I-68//I-70//US-50//US-33 that is only 26 miles longer and 21 minutes longer than its preference through Breezewood.  Whoodathunkit?

[hbelkins]

Where is this Ohio & The West sign located?

10 miles east of the I-68/70 jct.  Just west of the MD 56 exit:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/43vwkrULE7wKiQHD7

Isn't there another "Alt Route West" sign somewhere on I-70 besides that one?

[jmacswimmer]

Where is this Ohio & The West sign located?

10 miles east of the I-68/70 jct.  Just west of the MD 56 exit:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/43vwkrULE7wKiQHD7

Isn't there another "Alt Route West" sign somewhere on I-70 besides that one?

There's 3 others, all identical to each other:
-One each on I-70 & I-270 approaching Frederick, both 58 miles out
-One a mile past the one linked above, 9 miles out

[Beltway]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update to steer long‑distance westbound traffic toward I‑68 instead of Breezewood. The goal was to reduce I‑70 congestion and reinforce I‑68 as the preferred route to Ohio and the Midwest.

The signs make sense for I‑70‑corridor traffic headed toward Corridor D, Columbus, Cincinnati, and the central Midwest. But for Cleveland and Chicago, the faster and more direct route is still I‑76 to I‑80. SHA's message is aimed at the long‑haul flows where I‑68 actually is the better option.

[NE2]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update

Dolphinshit. They were already there in 2008.

[Beltway]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update

Dolphinshit. They were already there in 2008.

If the 2008 imagery really shows the same message that's up today, then I'm happy to stand corrected. I've only ever seen the mid‑2010s replacement panels in Street View, so if someone has a more detailed history of when the current wording was installed, I'd genuinely like to see it.

[cockroachking]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update

Dolphinshit. They were already there in 2008.

If the 2008 imagery really shows the same message that's up today, then I'm happy to stand corrected. I've only ever seen the mid‑2010s replacement panels in Street View, so if someone has a more detailed history of when the current wording was installed, I'd genuinely like to see it.

July 2008
November 2007
May 2009

[wriddle082]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update

Dolphinshit. They were already there in 2008.

If the 2008 imagery really shows the same message that's up today, then I'm happy to stand corrected. I've only ever seen the mid‑2010s replacement panels in Street View, so if someone has a more detailed history of when the current wording was installed, I'd genuinely like to see it.

I think I remember seeing those signs on my first trip ever through that area, which would have been in the summer of 1999.

[Dirt Roads]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update

<redacted> They were already there in 2008.

If the 2008 imagery really shows the same message that's up today, then I'm happy to stand corrected. I've only ever seen the mid‑2010s replacement panels in Street View, so if someone has a more detailed history of when the current wording was installed, I'd genuinely like to see it.

I think I remember seeing those signs on my first trip ever through that area, which would have been in the summer of 1999.

If I recall correctly, a few of these signs were originally installed before Corridor E was completed (and somewhat before then, because the signs were marked as US-48 instead of I-68).  That rings out as very early-1990s or perhaps the late 1980s.  I still have a homemade sketch on paper that superimposed an I-68 shield at the Sideling Hill cut (before the AASHTO proposal was approved in 1989).

[Rothman]

They were posted as part of SHA's mid‑2010s wayfinding update

<redacted> They were already there in 2008.

If the 2008 imagery really shows the same message that's up today, then I'm happy to stand corrected. I've only ever seen the mid‑2010s replacement panels in Street View, so if someone has a more detailed history of when the current wording was installed, I'd genuinely like to see it.

I think I remember seeing those signs on my first trip ever through that area, which would have been in the summer of 1999.

If I recall correctly, a few of these signs were originally installed before Corridor E was completed (and somewhat before then, because the signs were marked as US-48 instead of I-68).  That rings out as very early-1990s or perhaps the late 1980s.  I still have a homemade sketch on paper that superimposed an I-68 shield at the Sideling Hill cut (before the AASHTO proposal was approved in 1989).

I think you're right, having also been out there more than a couple of times when it was US 40/48.

[elsmere241]

I remember seeing a whole map of the route at a rest area, when I was driving back to college in August 1996.  It didn't look that efficient to me, so I took I-68 west to US 40 like I'd already planned.  After that experience, I figured taking I-68 all the way to I-79 would probably work better.

[Dirt Roads]

I remember seeing a whole map of the route at a rest area, when I was driving back to college in August 1996.  It didn't look that efficient to me, so I took I-68 west to US 40 like I'd already planned.  After that experience, I figured taking I-68 all the way to I-79 would probably work better.

Back in those days, US-40 from Keyser's Ridge should have been a breeze up to Uniontown.  From there I would take PA-51 to points further west (before then, I lived north of these and would take US-119 to New Stanton and beyond).

Am I also reminded that back then "Mother Goose" wouldn't let anyone drive faster than 55.5 MPH along I-68 (except in Cumberland, where you *could* go faster if you keep from rolling over in the curves).  Sometimes it was faster to take I-70 to Breezewood, just to pick up some time by getting out of Maryland in a hurry. 

[Beltway]

Back in those days, US-40 from Keyser's Ridge should have been a breeze up to Uniontown.  From there I would take PA-51 to points further west (before then, I lived north of these and would take US-119 to New Stanton and beyond).
Am I also reminded that back then "Mother Goose" wouldn't let anyone drive faster than 55.5 MPH along I-68 (except in Cumberland, where you *could* go faster if you keep from rolling over in the curves).  Sometimes it was faster to take I-70 to Breezewood, just to pick up some time by getting out of Maryland in a hurry.

Before the National Freeway was completed in 1991, the last 21 miles, it was slow, to slow to be a decent alternative to I-70. It wasn't designated I-68 until it was completed.

[The_Ginger]

Seems Maryland might be more effective with such messaging to draw traffic off the turnpike and onto I-68 would be "Save XXX in tolls, take I-68 west to I-79 north."

Ask and ye shall receive!
I know you didn't directly ask, but I wanted to make this sign anyway 

I didn't include the TO I-79 sign, but this is a pretty good replica of the existing sign, except there's a CMS for the toll amount. It's currently set to the amount of money saved if a motorist is driving a 2-axle vehicle, but it can be adjusted all the way to $99.99.

[elsmere241]

Back in those days, US-40 from Keyser's Ridge should have been a breeze up to Uniontown.  From there I would take PA-51 to points further west (before then, I lived north of these and would take US-119 to New Stanton and beyond).

Now that I think about it, that is what I did.  US-40 seemed rather stacked up or something.  I was relieved when I was able to pay a modest toll on PA-51 and get back to I-70.