Corridor H ahead of schedule

Once that segment is open, there will be approximately 4 miles of roadway left to build in that section.

“The major construction activities on this portion are complete as well, and we are optimistic to have it open by the end of the year as well,” Collins said.

“However, realistically, we are looking at early spring. Major factors contributing to not opening this year is that a few of the final activities to complete in this section are weather sensitive,” Collins said.

Robbie Morris, Corridor H Authority president and Randolph County Development Authority executive director, agreed that construction of the highway is ahead of schedule. He credited  support from the state Division of Highways, the state Legislature, the governor’s office and federal representatives in advocating different funding mechanisms.

“We’re seeing results from that — sections getting under construction earlier than they were originally scheduled. So that’s very exciting news,” Morris said.

Morris said the Corridor H Authority commissioned a study analyzing the economic impact and lost opportunity costs in West Virginia if the highway project is not completed until 2036 — its original completion date — rather than in the year 2020.

“It ended up being a $1.2 billion impact to the West Virginia economy if we could have this road completed by 2020, or at least under construction, rather than 2036,” Morris said. “Every year we can take off of that 2036 means significant dollars, significant jobs and a significant improvement to the quality of life for everyone.”

Lewis County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Mike Herron said his county is just one of many that will reap the benefits of a completed Corridor H.

“This is more for the entire region, not just Lewis County. This could be the most important infrastructure development in this part of the state,” Herron said. “A completed Corridor H will connect Weston and Lewis County — and all the counties in between — with the Inland Port in Virginia and enable access to international markets much faster and be much more cost effective.

“I anticipate it will be a huge boom to this area, specifically for Lewis County. I see great potential in warehouse distribution activity for those people who are transporting goods overseas. From an economic standpoint, I think it’s tremendous. From a quality-of-life standpoint, now you’ll be able to access the sea coast and the Washington, D.C., area. It helps open the East Coast to this region for our tourism industry,” Herron continued.

Construction crews are still working on a section from Sheer Mountain to Davis, Morris said.

Corridor H is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System that was authorized by Congress in 1964.

When completed, the highway will span from Weston to Wardensville in Hardy County.

On the Virginia side, the highway will lead to Interstate 81 near Front Royal, Virginia, Morris said. From I-81 at the point of its planned connection with Corridor H, traffic will only be miles from the Interstate 66 junction that leads to the Inland Port of Front Royal, where double-stack container rail cars are hauled to Norfolk, Virginia, the deepest-water port on the East Coast, Morris said. The Norfolk port handles major container ships from around the globe.

“So there’s a lot of economic development possibilities with having access to that inland port for exporting and importing,” Morris said. “In addition, it opens up one of the most beautiful areas of our state for tourism.”

Morris said Tucker County and the Canaan Valley area have reported increased traffic flow because motorists don’t have to navigate winding country roads.

“They’re wonderful and they provide a different view of the mountains and our topography, but when you’re just trying to conduct business and go from point A to point B and deliver goods, then they can be challenging and more costly, and that makes economic development more difficult,” Morris said. “This will help alleviate a lot of that.”

Currently, 75 percent of Corridor H is either finished or under construction, Morris said. After workers complete a section from Sheer Mountain to Davis, traffic will be able to proceed from Wardensville to Davis and through Moorefield “all in one fell swoop,” Morris said.

Once that section is completed, construction crews will head back to Randolph County to begin working on the next section from Kerens to Parsons. Morris said he is hopeful that can at least begin in 2015.

“But after that section from Kerens to Parsons is done, the road is 87 percent complete, and we’d just need the section from Parsons to Davis, which will be the most costly and difficult — just given terrain, environmental factors and historical factors you have to work around,” Morris said.

If crews manage to start the section from Kerens to Parsons next year, Morris said it will be three years ahead of schedule.

“We’re really starting to make some headway on that time frame,” he said.

The 130-mile Corridor H is expected to connect with a 13-mile section into Virginia from Hardy County.

“Last year, Virginia made an announcement they will have their section complete around 2025-2026, which is great,” Morris said. “For many years, they had refused to give a date or a time or look at it. They had other priorities, things of that nature. Now it’s on their radar screen.

“The Corridor H Authority has done a great job at educating everyone on the economic impacts that Corridor H will have. It’s just economic development all along the route and throughout the regions, not only in West Virginia, but Virginia as well. So they’re on board now.”

Staff Writer Melissa Toothman can be reached at (304) 626-1445 or by email at mtoothman@theet.com