New Section of US 35 north of I-64

[mpgarr]

I will love it when Kokosing completes the entire section of US 35 north from I-64 to the river---for years I have made the trip from Dayton, Ohio down to the coast of Georgia/South Carolina and on down to Central Florida--I try not to take 75 down if I don't have to.

In a few years when that last 20 or so miles of US 35 is done down in WVA-it will be nice to leave Dayton on 35 and have great roadway all the way to Charleston. 

If I had thought about it--I would have taken some pics of the new section of 35--it is one nice road.

I hope that someday though--they do build the unbuilt sections of I-74 from where it is done now in NC/Virginia to Cincinnati--and man--I hope that they build "I-3" from Knoxville to Savannah!!!

[SP Cook]

Sorry to say, but Kokosing is only building four miles, from the current end of the 4-lane just near the river/state line, south four miles.  That will be finished about June 10.  This will leave a gap of 13 miles which is currently not funded and not planned.

One proposal that is getting renewed traction is to build that 13 mile section not to the "corridor" standard but to the full "interstate" standard (which means without at-grade intersections) and with no intermediate exits at all (locals would have to drive 6 1/2 miles one way or the other to the free sections on the old road) as a toll road. 

This, IMHO, makes a lot of sense.   It could get the road done quickly and leave the rural nature of the area protected.

[hbelkins]

I will love it when Kokosing completes the entire section of US 35 north from I-64 to the river---for years I have made the trip from Dayton, Ohio down to the coast of Georgia/South Carolina and on down to Central Florida--I try not to take 75 down if I don't have to.

In a few years when that last 20 or so miles of US 35 is done down in WVA-it will be nice to leave Dayton on 35 and have great roadway all the way to Charleston. 

If I had thought about it--I would have taken some pics of the new section of 35--it is one nice road.

I hope that someday though--they do build the unbuilt sections of I-74 from where it is done now in NC/Virginia to Cincinnati--and man--I hope that they build "I-3" from Knoxville to Savannah!!!

I have pictures from the weekend before the road opened (yes, I drove on it before it was officially opened) and they'll be uploaded this weekend on the Millennium Highway site.

"I-74" will never be built in West Virginia. What's being planned is a road much like the new portion of US 35; that is, an upgrade of US 52 to a surface four-lane. Ohio probably will never make improvements to US 52 along the river, either.

[mightyace]

West Virginia is looking at completing US 35 as a toll road.

WV/US35 in west of state likely toll road

[Chris]

Why can't they build that section as a tax-financed freeway?

What's next, toll roads popping up randomly, because they can't get the funding right?

Toll roads only make sense imo if;
1) They're long distance
2) They're objects (tunnels, bridges etc) which are hard to avoid.

This would just be another shunpike road where nobody will travel.

[DanTheMan414]

It's not all that easy, Chris.  While many states are having trouble doing that anyhow because of the economy, West Virginia has especially had a tough time being able to construct new highways.  Case in point: The WV portion of the Mon-Fayette Expwy. (WV 43, to connect with PA Turnpike 43) east of Morgantown.  Ground was broken last week on this, after years of delays, until they were able to secure the full funding.  I think they've built a few bridges in the meantime, but it's just now they're able to start full work on WV 43.

[Chris]

True, but from the looks of it, building a toll road seems to be the only option if tax-funds are not available at the time. If this US 35 will be build as a toll road, it's quite easy to avoid that by using I-77 up to Ripley, and then US 33 via Athens to Columbus. Or I-64 to Huntington and then US 52 to Portsmouth and then US 23 north to Columbus. Both routes seems to be a divided highway often, and even a freeway sometimes.

[mightyace]

What's next, toll roads popping up randomly, because they can't get the funding right?

That's already happening.

All the little PA turnpike operations in western/southwestern Pennsylvania are this way.  Both the Mon-Fayette (PA TOLL 43) and Beaver Valley Expressway (PA TOLL 60) had been proposed for many, many years, but were never constructed due to funding issues.

[Alex]

Putnam commissioners approve tolls on U.S. 35

WINFIELD, W.Va. -- After an hour-long presentation by members of a local advisory committee on Tuesday, Putnam County commissioners unanimously approved building tollbooths to pay for the unfinished 14.6-mile stretch of U.S. 35.

Transportation officials have been saying for weeks that the road cannot be finished without tolls. The advisory committee members echoed that sentiment Tuesday.

"We feel that Route 35 cannot be done in a piecemeal fashion," said John Meyers, one of the members of Putnam County's local advisory committee.

The incomplete stretch of highway is in Mason and Putnam counties. Gov. Joe Manchin appointed two committee members from each county to conduct an independent study on the feasibility of the toll road.

Committee members must report their findings to their county commissioners, who then have to allow transportation officials to build the tollbooths.

Safety was the main factor in Commissioner Joe Haynes' decision to allow the tolls.

"It seems to be an absolute crying shame that Putnam County could not get enough money to complete a section of road that replaces one of the most treacherous roads in America," Haynes said. "There's hardly anybody in this county that doesn't have some personal experience with a tragedy on this old road."

Haynes said he would approve the tolls because he would feel personal responsibility for any future deaths on the old road.

He also said Putnam County residents would find a toll road more acceptable if they knew when tolls would be lifted.

"People in West Virginia don't believe the toll will ever go off once it goes on. I'm not so sure I disagree with them," Haynes said. "I think, once we see the toll go on this road, we'll never see it go off."

State Division of Highways engineer Marvin Murphy said two weeks ago that the bonding period for the new road is set for 30 years. Lighter traffic during those 30 years could increase the amount of time the tolls stay, he said.

Transportation officials are still waiting on the results of a traffic study to determine the amount of revenue the traffic on the new road will generate.

Drivers will pay $2 on each stop to the tollbooths while commercial truck drivers will pay $8. One toll booth will be in Mason County, about five miles outside of Point Pleasant, between 3-Mile Creek Road and 5-Mile Creek Road. The other booth will be in Putnam County between Tucker Branch North and Tucker Branch South, according to DOH officials.

Mason County commissioners will decide whether to allow tolls on the road at a meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Mason County Courthouse. If they approve, state transportation officials will hold a 90-day public comment period.

Officials expect to receive bids for the construction of the road at the end of October.

[Alex]

Commission approves resolution backing U.S. 35 toll

Mason County approved tolling of the last section of U.S. 35 to be built, so a toll road it will be...

[hbelkins]

What's this with giving local officials a say in a state decision?

Why should the local county commission have veto power on how the state finances the construction of a state highway?

Locals won't use this road, especially if there are no interchanges between the Buffalo bridge (where the four-lane stemming north from I-64 ends now) and the Henderson area (where the four-lane near Point Pleaseant ends now).

[froggie]

Maybe because the road still goes through the local jurisdiction...?

[Revive 755]

Maybe because the road still goes through the local jurisdiction...?

And the process has proven itself to work oh-so-well when there's one small burg that just wants to be a pain in the rear.

[SP Cook]

The state law that purported to approve the toll of this road required a vote from the county commissions.   This was a democrat amendment to the Republican bill (both counties are majority Republican, especially Putnam) which would have required a referendum.  IMHO, the referendum would have failed.

This is a different plan than that put forth previously.  There is a 13 mile gap left "unfunded" (whatever that means).  From the junction with the "Toyota Bridge" north to 6 miles below Point Pleasant.  The Turnpike Commission will build that section, but will toll the ENTIRE road.  It purports to place a toll on the already open and paid for section between WV 34 and the Toyota Bridge, thus getting a $4 per day toll ($2 each way)  on probably 85% of the workers at the huge TMMWV plant (or, more likely, shift that traffic onto the old roads on either side of the river, both of which would be fine without the truck traffic found on 35). 

Thus you would have, as with the originial WV Turnpike, a road fully paid by ordinary fuel tax revenue, being tolled.  And it would carry, as it already does, a US designation, US 35.  Thus 13 miles of construction will carry a whopping toll of $4 (two $2 tolls, one on the completed current freeway just north of WV 34 and one on the too be built section, collected just at the beginning of that secton ("beginning" defined via southbound).  BTW built to corridor standards, making it "shunpikeable" on a rediculious basis.

Funding would be similar to the WV Turnpike, meaning tolls would subsidize Scamarack and the turnpike commission would purport to "donate" toll money to HS band trips, playground equipment, and to "invest" in penny pink sheet stocks.  The WVSP would be paid to patrol the road (which they currently patrol, over patrol in fact) for free.

[LeftyJR]

What's next, toll roads popping up randomly, because they can't get the funding right?

That's already happening.

All the little PA turnpike operations in western/southwestern Pennsylvania are this way.  Both the Mon-Fayette (PA TOLL 43) and Beaver Valley Expressway (PA TOLL 60) had been proposed for many, many years, but were never constructed due to funding issues.

And those roads don't get NEARLY the amount of use/economic development along them as they should/would if they were free.

When I used to travel PA 60 Toll (now I-376), the amount of traffic before and after the Chippewa exit (where the tolls started) was astronomically different.

A lot of people got off and used PA-18 as an alternative (which was only about 5 minutes longer to get to I-80).

[agentsteel53]

use/economic development

read: sprawl.  probably best that they remain toll roads, then.

[SP Cook]

Mason County Commission, chastened by the voters in the recent election, withdraw their approval.

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Mason_County_Commission_Taking__Second_Vote_on_Rt_35_Toll_Proposal_106930768.html

IMHO, the Turnpike people overplayed their hand, admitting it would raise tolls (already set at $4 to finance slighly more than 12 miles of construction) every 4 years and that is would be "generations" before the road was paid off.   It further admitted it would use the same phony accounting and employment practices as it does on the orignal Turnpike. 

Really, the idea of building the 12 miles that are unbuilt as an interstate quality toll road, with no exits, makes a lot of sense.  The idea of placing a toll on the rest of the road, asside from being illegal, was just silly, as there are not one but two shunpikes available.

[hbelkins]

I grabbed a copy of one of the Charleston papers with that as the lead story on my way through WV on Thursday. I don't know why the people in Mason County threw such a fit. If they don't want to use the new road once it's built, they'll still have the old road available to them. If that stretch of US 35 is as deadly as everyone says it is, seems like the locals would be thrilled to have the truck traffic shunted off onto a new road. And if they're concerned about truckers not using the toll road, there are a couple of ways to stop that: post it "no trucks" and patrol it, and build some kind of structure across the old road in two or three places (an empty sign gantry, maybe) that would restrict the road to vehicles of passenger vehicle height.

Surely there is not a lot of commuter traffic from Pt. Pleasant to Charleston that would be hard-hit by a new toll road.

[SP Cook]

Mason County people have waited for decades for this road to be built, while projects like US 50/Corridor D and US 48/Corridor H and now a four lane WV 10 from Man (population zero) to Logan (population 4) while they saw Ohio build the OH 32, US 23, US 35 funnel onto US 35 in WV.  It was a train wreck you could see coming for two decades.  Actually a truck wreck.  100s of truck wrecks. 

This road is dangerous and it should have been built contemperanously with the Ohio construction.  The state poured money into other projects of less importance and NOW there is "no money" for 35.  Money for H, money for 10, money for D, money for an East Beckley bypass, money for every part of the state.

Except, and this is the point, the state saw the oppertunity to use regular gas money to build 20 miles of road, then "run out of money" build 12 miles and then toll the whole thing.  Because the truck and tourist traffic would be huge and it would be another cash cow like the Turnpike.  And Mason County people know what the Turnpike does with its money, which is not what it should be doing (when the Turnpike tolls were extended in the late 80s, we were all told that "economic development" meant use the money to build other roads, but they did not even properly maintain the Turnpike) . 

The solution would be to build the 12 miles and toll the 12 miles, under the "Kentucky system" of strict accounting and a promise made and a promise kept to take the tolls off when the road is paid off.  Mason County people understand this is a toll forever, with regular increases, and the money will fund Scamarack and buy HS band trips. 

[froggie]

To be fair, D was needed.  But agree that H and 10 could've taken second priority to 35.

[hbelkins]

How much of WV 10 between Logan and Man is four lanes now? Last time I was up there, which admittedly was several years ago, only a tiny piece right in Man was under construction.

[SP Cook]

3.54 miles are finished/almost finished.

Seriously of all of the boondoggle projects, WV 10 is beyond belief.  It literally is a road to nowhere.  If it were ever completed, it just ends in Verner, WV, which is the exact middle of nowhere.  It serves no through traffic purpose, because no one wants to go to Verner, WV.  It serves no economic development purpose, because there really is no economically developable land between Verner and Logan, just nearly vertical hillsides.  All this in an area that has bled population for 60 years.  There really is just nothing there.  But for coal, no one would have ever lived there, and the coal is gone.  You are talking traffic counts in the single numbers. 

Now, if you buy the whole "King Coal" and "Tolsia" highway 73/74 stuff, this new 10 will JCT with that.  But, this nearly 40 miles of construction would then serve what purpose.  Cutting a whopping 11 miles off a trip from Verner to Logan over using this theoretical new 52 and the existing 119.  It is a total waste.

[hbelkins]

I remember a couple of spots between Logan and Man where WV 10 is barely a single lane wide. One place that stands out is near a shopping plaza that's located on a hillside on the left side of the road when you're going south. I think some spot improvements to widen the road to two usable lanes would have been appropriate, but a four-lane route is overkill.

[dave19]

Uh-oh...
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/Putnam/201102031605

[SP Cook]

US 35 toll scheme finally dead.

http://www.dailymail.com/News/201103241236

The road will now take a backburner federally.  Census figures have WV's 2nd District "over" by about 35K and the 3rd District "under" by about 30K.  Mason County, with 28K population is the easiest county to shift, because the odd shape of the 2nd District makes most counties "unshiftable" due to the contigious requirement.  The 2nd Congresswoman has made US 35 a priority, but this will not be the case under the new alignment.