Corridor H

[hurricanehink]

Forget the time savings.  You'll want to spend most of your trip across the Alleghenies exploring the Potomac Highlands.  I hardly ever have stayed there (except to visit a preacher friend who once lived in Davis), but every time I've been through the area I made at least three (3) stops along the way averaging over an hour each.  Once the entirety of Corridor H opens up, many folks that use it as a quicker route are going to find that it is too Wild and Wonderful not to stop and spend lots of time hiking down to the waterfalls and such.

Sure -- it will do both -- sightseeing and interstate travel.

I-64 and I-68 thru the mountains have their own scenic wonders.

I-81 also has a share of beautiful places that I've stopped by. I've also driven parts of US 48 (Kentucky to Washington DC trip), and I did not find the sharp turns wild or wonderful, only stopping for gas after getting back to civilization. I'm eager to eventually drive it again when it's finished.

[Dirt Roads]

Forget the time savings.  You'll want to spend most of your trip across the Alleghenies exploring the Potomac Highlands.  I hardly ever have stayed there (except to visit a preacher friend who once lived in Davis), but every time I've been through the area I made at least three (3) stops along the way averaging over an hour each.  Once the entirety of Corridor H opens up, many folks that use it as a quicker route are going to find that it is too Wild and Wonderful not to stop and spend lots of time hiking down to the waterfalls and such.

Sure -- it will do both -- sightseeing and interstate travel.

I-64 and I-68 thru the mountains have their own scenic wonders.

Indeed.  I heartily confess to having frequented:

I-68 West Virginia/Maryland

• Coopers Rock State Forest (WV)
• Swallow Falls State Park (MD)
• Rocky Gap State Park (MD)
• Green Ridge State Forest

I-64 West Virginia/Virginia

• Grandview State Park (WV) (now part of "Honey-in-the-Rock" National Park)
• Sandstone Falls (WV)
• Douthat State Park (VA)
• C&O Historical Society (Clifton Forge)
• 40 Two Road (VA)

There's plenty of others that are worth driving off of these paths to see as well (for instance, Hawks Nest State Park on the North Rim). 

[Bitmapped]

I spoke with the WVDOH District 8 construction engineer in Elkins this afternoon. They will be installing a signage assembly at the WV 72 ramp in the next week or so showing that eastbound US 48 follows WV 72 south back to Parsons.

[The_Ginger]

I spoke with the WVDOH District 8 construction engineer in Elkins this afternoon. They will be installing a signage assembly at the WV 72 ramp in the next week or so showing that eastbound US 48 follows WV 72 south back to Parsons.

Good. A temporary assembly is definitely needed there until the next section opens.

[The_Ginger]

My June 25th video of the new segment has been uploaded:

[74/171FAN]

Was posted in WV thread by seicer:

WVDOH awards first contract for Corridor H, Wardensville to the Virginia state line

Today, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) awarded a construction contract for the first of several projects to extend Corridor H from Wardensville to the Virginia state line.

Triton Construction Inc. was awarded a contract for $85,425,000 to build an approximately 3.74-mile section of Corridor H from the Trout Run Cutoff Road to Waites Run Road. The contract includes grading and drainage work, the construction of twin bridges at Trout Run, and paving for approximately the first 1.5 miles of new highway.

"Awarding the initial construction project for the Wardensville to Virginia state line section of Corridor H is a major milestone," said state Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh. "Thanks to the steady dedication of our WVDOH staff, we are moving past the years of debate and taking a massive step closer to completion."

On Wednesday, July 1, 2023, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced an award of $23 million toward the project from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program.

The section to Waites Run Road is the first of four planned construction projects to carry Corridor H the 6.8 miles from Wardensville to the Virginia state line. Tuesday's contract was awarded from a special bid letting conducted by the WVDOH on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.

On Monday, June 22, 2026, the WVDOH officially opened an approximately 11-mile of section of Corridor H from Kerens to Parsons at a ceremony attended by Rumbaugh, Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Capito, and federal highways officials.

Approximately 112 miles of Corridor H is currently open to traffic, with a little less than 20 miles to go. The section from Wardensville to the Virginia state line is expected to be open by late 2032, with the entire corridor complete by late 2034.

[The_Ginger]

In an absolutely shocking job by Google, the next part of Corridor H is on GSV—sort of.

The Street View car drove just under half of the new road sometime in June. It turned around at this intersection, but what it did drive was enough to see the National Forest brown signs and guardrails.

It also went through the WV 72 interchange at Parsons, but that must have been just days before the opening of the highway, as the entrance ramp is blocked off. It does get good views of the interchange and the brown high-mast lighting.

This has to be the fastest a GSV car has drove through a new road in the Mountain State.

[Dirt Roads]

It also went through the WV 72 interchange at Parsons, but that must have been just days before the opening of the highway, as the entrance ramp is blocked off. It does get good views of the interchange and the brown high-mast lighting.

Wow, the high masts for lighting are also painted brown.  The only other place that I recall "brown" high mast lighting was on the I-64/I-77/I-79 approaches in Charleston and South Charleston where the DOH used CorTen steel on pretty much everything that was bolted down.