DAVIS, W.Va. – The newest section of Corridor H will make it much easier and safer for folks from the eastern shore to make to the mountains of West Virginia.
Bill Smith, with the Tucker County Convention and Visitors Bureau, says the long-awaited opening of a 4.7-mile stretch of the four-lane highway from Scherr to Bismarck, earlier this month, replaces a road filled with hairpin turns.
“From the lower part of Route 93 up Bismarck, that spans 2,000 vertical feet in four miles. The old Route 93 was hampered with a whole lot of sharp switchbacks which was fairly treacherous driving,” according to Smith.
He says this is another step forward in completing Corridor H which has been under construction since 1964. The road will eventually connect I-79 at Weston to I-81 in Front Royal, Virginia.
“It’ll take about an hour off the total drive time,” according to Smith. “So it’s going to make it a safer and more reliable form of transportation for our guests.”
Smith says he’s anxious for the first winter the entire Corridor is open to see how it impacts places like Canaan Valley Ski Resort and Timberline.
“Our guests coming from the eastern seaboard have to drive past a great deal of our competition in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland and this is a straight shot in from I-81 and I think it’s really going to help a lot of people get here.
The next section of Corridor H will connect Davis with Mt. Storm. The 16.2 mile stretch has a completion date of early 2015.
While the project has stretched on for nearly 50-years, Smith says each mile gets them a little closer to the goal of an easy route from east to west from the east coast.
“Any project of this magnitude takes time. So, yes, we’ve learned to be patient.”
And that patience will pay off for more than just the ski resorts. Smith says other attractions like Blackwater Falls, Dolly Sods and the Monongahela National Forest will benefit.