ELKINS, W.Va. — One of the state’s longest-running highway projects has got another big boost from the bipartisan infrastructure bill approved in Washington. U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, along with West Virginia First District Congressman David McKinley, announced that allocation of just over $37 million for continued work on Corridor H.
The allocation was great news to Robbie Morris, who heads the Corridor H Committee.
“Out of the infrastructure bill, there was a little under $200 million allocated for Corridor H to be delivered roughly in even trounces over the next five years,” Morris said.
This week’s $37 million allocation was the first money out of the new bill for the highway. It will go toward the unfinished segments of the highway. There are several of those stretches left, but they seem to get smaller with passing reports.
As of this week, the Kerens to Parsons section includes two segments under construction. The Cheat Bridge is a stand-alone project. There are three to four more miles that need to be built between Kerens and Parsons and the Parsons to Davis section, which is approximately 10 miles. The other end of the highway includes completion from Wardensville to the state line which is approximately six miles.
The Virginia stretch from Interstate 81 to the West Virginia state line is about 15 miles.
Morris said conversations he’s had with the Department of Transportation is the project is a front burner for the Justice Administration.
“They are aggressively working on the funding package to finish up the rest of it and put the last two projects out to bid. It’s a big priority of Governor Justice and a big priority for Transportation Commissioner Jimmy Wriston as well as our federal delegation,” he explained.
Morris believed the administration’s goal was to have all of the remaining sections of the highway under construction by the time Justice leaves office.