BYRD’S EYE VIEW: Progress to Report on Corridor H
From the desk of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-WV
Washington, DC (HNN) -- The paths through West Virginia’s Potomac Highlands are, too often, a dangerous maze of two-lane roads, winding dizzyingly around the region’s mountains. As a result, job opportunities have been slow to find the region while traffic accidents and deaths are far too common. That’s why completing Corridor H will make such a difference in people’s lives.
Already, in the sections of Corridor H that are open to traffic, cars and trucks are able to navigate the mountains more safely and more quickly. Fatalities are down and opportunities are growing. But the promise of Corridor H is still elusive for the people who have been waiting and waiting for the road to be built.
The legal hurdles to the remaining sections of Corridor H have largely been overcome. Now, the focus turns to funding. It’s no secret that building a mile of highway in West Virginia is far more expensive than building that same mile in flat states like Kansas or Iowa. Projects like Corridor H are incredibly expensive, and acquiring the funds takes time.
I am proud to report that, already, I have won Congressional approval for more than $656 million for Corridor H design and construction -- and more dollars are on the way. Last summer, Senator Jay Rockefeller and I partnered on federal legislation to ensure that West Virginia would receive $432.5 million in Corridor highway construction funds. And, when the Senate returns to work in November, I shall press for the approval of separate legislation that would direct another $20 million toward Corridor H, as well as other construction dollars to key highway projects throughout West Virginia.
Those dollars are translating into real progress. This summer, construction began on the very first segment of Corridor H in Grant County, as crews started work on a section of highway that will stretch from Moorefield to Forman. That’s solid progress, and more work is on the way.
More than 40 years ago, in 1965, Congress promised the people of Appalachia that it would build a network of roads to link the region to interstate highways and bring economic opportunities into the hills and hollows. That is a promise that needs to be kept. It is time to finish Corridor H.