CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The long standing Corridor-H highway project is relatively near an end and the West Virginia Department of Transportation is starting to look at what should be the next priority project in the Mountain State.
During a presentation to the House Finance Committee Tuesday, State Transportation Secretary Steven Todd Rumbaugh told lawmakers he’s instructed his staff to begin to review and prioritize each road construction plan in the Mountain State.
“Corridor H is our number one priority at this time. The question is as we are beginning to see the end of Corridor H and its completion, where do we go next. Do we go to the Coalfields Expressway, do we go to the King Coal, do we go to Route 2? Do we try to finish I-68 across the state? What should be our next priority,” he said.
Suggesting Corridor-H was nearing completion would be a long view. Rumbaugh told the committee plans are to open the Kerens to Parsons section this summer and they’re ready to move forward with bids on the Wardensville to the Virginia border stretch in four separate projects later this year. The Secretary had no information about when or if Virginia had any desire to build their section of the highway to connect to I-81. Until that happens, the road is a four-lane which will turn into a country road in the Virginia countryside. He added, there’s still no known timeline on the most sensitive part of the highway from Parsons to Thomas and Davis. Rumbaugh told lawmakers the environmental study on that controversial stretch should be done by next year and the project ready to go to bid.
But the entire explanation came after questions from Berkeley County Delegate Michael Hite. Hite raised questions about why Berkeley County, with all of the extreme growth in the Eastern Panhandle, would not be considered the top priority immediately.
“Where on that priority list would be the highest growth area in West Virginia which is Berkeley County? Tell me about Route 9 West,” said Hite.
Rumbaugh assured him Route 9 was on the list to be reviewed.
“Are you talking about the 15 round-abouts you’re putting on Route 9 west. Is that the solution,” Hite shot back.
He furthered bristled when Rumbaugh suggested the Route 9 Bypass was one of the projects under consideration.
“Well it’s been on the books for 40 years. When are you going to make a decision?” the Berkeley County delegate sniped.
Hite’s frustration not withstanding, Rumbaugh said his staff is working on the list to set priorities, costs, population dynamics, public opinion, and the potential return on investment for every project on the books. He added focus on a single project is the better way to go because spreading them out hasn’t worked for progress.
“There’s a whole list of projects around the entire state we need to get a handle on and get some kind of logical order in which to do these. Because sitting and doing a little bit on each one never completes anything, it takes forever,” he said.