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[MASTERNC]

Heading into Tucker County, WV in a couple of weeks for a friend's wedding.  Leaving from Delaware on a Friday morning and returning on a Sunday.  Google Maps was giving two routes of about equal distance & time

- Go around Baltimore and pick up I-70 to I-68, then take US 220 south from Cumberland (I am familiar with a lot of this route)
- Go around DC and take I-66 West to I-81 South and then take US 48 for about 85 miles

My concerns with the latter route are I am not sure how much of it is 2 lane road versus 4 lane highway (knowing this is Corridor H in West Virginia) as well as a lack of services along US 48.  I am leaning towards the Interstate heavy route but wanted to see if my assumptions were correct.

[hbelkins]

Where, exactly, are you going in Tucker County?

US 48 is not a bad route. You have about 22 miles or so of two-lane, between I-81 and Wardensville, but it's not a typical mountain road with a lot of switchbacks. The crossing at the state line is fairly gentle. Wardensville is a speed trap, and WV state police are increasingly running radar on the four-lane part of US 48. It's lightly traveled so you will be tempted to drive faster than the 65 mph speed limits. It's true that there aren't a lot of services, but there is a newer Sheetz at Moorefield. There's also a Liberty gas station at Bismarck, at the intersection of WV 42 and WV 93, just off US 48.

If you opt for I-68 and US 220, how do you propose to get to Tucker County? My recommendation would be WV 972 to US 50 to WV 93, then pick up US 48.

I would probably go one way and come back the other, but that's just me.

[Mapmikey]

Where, exactly, are you going in Tucker County?

US 48 is not a bad route. You have about 22 miles or so of two-lane, between I-81 and Wardensville, but it's not a typical mountain road with a lot of switchbacks. The crossing at the state line is fairly gentle. Wardensville is a speed trap, and WV state police are increasingly running radar on the four-lane part of US 48. It's lightly traveled so you will be tempted to drive faster than the 65 mph speed limits. It's true that there aren't a lot of services, but there is a newer Sheetz at Moorefield. There's also a Liberty gas station at Bismarck, at the intersection of WV 42 and WV 93, just off US 48.

If you opt for I-68 and US 220, how do you propose to get to Tucker County? My recommendation would be WV 972 to US 50 to WV 93, then pick up US 48.

I would probably go one way and come back the other, but that's just me.

Note that WV 972 has been renumbered as part of WV 93...

[froggie]

^^ He specified taking US 48 "for about 85 miles" from I-81, which would put him in the Davis vicinity.

Which route to take basically boils down to personal preference.  As far as distance and travel times, they're basically "six of one and half a dozen of the other"....very close in terms of distance and travel.  Going via Cumberland has more 2-lane roadway (38 miles vice 22 along Corridor H/US 48), but makes up for it with more mileage of 65+ MPH speed limits and less potential for traffic jams.

[hbelkins]

Note that WV 972 has been renumbered as part of WV 93...

When did this happen? The statewide map still shows it as 972, as does the 2017 Mineral County map, and a Street View from 2015 shows a "JCT WV 972" assembly on southbound US 220.

^^ He specified taking US 48 "for about 85 miles" from I-81, which would put him in the Davis vicinity.

Which route to take basically boils down to personal preference.  As far as distance and travel times, they're basically "six of one and half a dozen of the other"....very close in terms of distance and travel.  Going via Cumberland has more 2-lane roadway (38 miles vice 22 along Corridor H/US 48), but makes up for it with more mileage of 65+ MPH speed limits and less potential for traffic jams.

It always seemed to take forever to go between Keyser and Cumberland on 220, at least when I drove it. Seems like I always got held up behind slow-moving traffic. I'm presuming the "less potential for traffic jams" refers to the DC area, because I typically have never encountered any issues on I-66 west of Haymarket.

[MASTERNC]

^^ He specified taking US 48 "for about 85 miles" from I-81, which would put him in the Davis vicinity.

Which route to take basically boils down to personal preference.  As far as distance and travel times, they're basically "six of one and half a dozen of the other"....very close in terms of distance and travel.  Going via Cumberland has more 2-lane roadway (38 miles vice 22 along Corridor H/US 48), but makes up for it with more mileage of 65+ MPH speed limits and less potential for traffic jams.

That is correct - heading to that general area

[froggie]

Note that WV 972 has been renumbered as part of WV 93...

When did this happen? The statewide map still shows it as 972, as does the 2017 Mineral County map, and a Street View from 2015 shows a "JCT WV 972" assembly on southbound US 220.

Last summer.

http://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/w-va-route-changing-to/article_9b26a2c7-8da3-5c50-91c4-165f9828177c.html

^^ He specified taking US 48 "for about 85 miles" from I-81, which would put him in the Davis vicinity.

Which route to take basically boils down to personal preference.  As far as distance and travel times, they're basically "six of one and half a dozen of the other"....very close in terms of distance and travel.  Going via Cumberland has more 2-lane roadway (38 miles vice 22 along Corridor H/US 48), but makes up for it with more mileage of 65+ MPH speed limits and less potential for traffic jams.

It always seemed to take forever to go between Keyser and Cumberland on 220, at least when I drove it. Seems like I always got held up behind slow-moving traffic. I'm presuming the "less potential for traffic jams" refers to the DC area, because I typically have never encountered any issues on I-66 west of Haymarket.

Same can just as easily happen on the 2-lane portions of 48.  And yes, I was referring to the DC area having a higher potential for congestion, especially on the Beltway and the portions of 66 you didn't mention.

[hbelkins]

Note that WV 972 has been renumbered as part of WV 93...

When did this happen? The statewide map still shows it as 972, as does the 2017 Mineral County map, and a Street View from 2015 shows a "JCT WV 972" assembly on southbound US 220.

Last summer.

http://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/w-va-route-changing-to/article_9b26a2c7-8da3-5c50-91c4-165f9828177c.html

Interesting that I had not seen or heard of this until now. I must not be scanning the right news sources.

[MASTERNC]

Just got back.  Split the difference and went west on I-68 going down there and then went back US 48 into Virginia and then up I-81 to VA 7 and US 340 (back to I-70 in Frederick).  Definitely preferred the latter (had a lot of traffic and turning vehicles on US 220 heading south from Cumberland into WV).