Highway Received Special Treatment in 1998 Highway Bill

Proposal and savings
Cancel the Corridor H project, saving federal taxpayers approximately $1 billion.

Background
Corridor H is a proposed 100-mile four-lane federal highway intended to open up the state for economic development. The highway was originally slated to run between Elkins, West Virginia and I-81 at Strasburg, Virginia, but Virginia’s 1995 cancellation of the easternmost 14 miles forces the highway to terminate near the state line. The project cost could reach $1.6 billion, or about $16 million per mile.

Status
A federal appeals court has agreed with opponents that the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) must complete its studies of historic sites before any construction can begin. The injunction halted construction on a 5.8-mile segment of Corridor H in Randolph County. WVDOT has agreed to enter mediation on changes to avoid sensitive sites. Opponents declare they will sue over any construction that threatens natural and historic sites. About $2.2 billion was authorized over six years for the entire Appalachian Corridor system in the federal transportation funding bill passed in 1998, known as TEA-21.

Problems with the project
Taxpayer Concerns This and other Appalachian highways have received special treatment from Congress, which has created a separate Appalachian corridor funding program in addition to West Virginia’s regular spending allocations. There are better ways to boost the state’s economy. The current and original directors of the Appalachian Regional Commission have both stated on the record that Appalachia needs funding for education and job training, not more roads.

Bulldozing 3,000- and 4,000-foot mountains is expensive — at least $16 million per mile. The Federal Highway Administration admits that improving existing roads would be considerably less costly. Specific problems could be fixed without having to construct a new highway, since traffic in the area is projected by WVDOT to fall well below the 10,000 cars a day that engineers use to justify a four-lane highway.

Local Community Concerns
The project encourages sprawl development at the expense of forests, farms, and traditional "Main Street" merchants. It would lessen the state’s tourist appeal by marring West Virginia’s natural, recreational, and historic attractions.

Environmental Concerns
The new road would damage pristine wilderness areas, cross forty streams, cut through the George Washington National Forest, and fragment the Monongahela National Forest — one of the largest roadless area in the Eastern United States. Scenic America named the existing east-west Routes 55, 93, and 219, in a corridor running near Corridor H, as one of the "Ten Most Endangered Scenic Byways." Finally, it would impact numerous historic sites including Civil War battlefields at Moorefield and Corricks Ford, which are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Contacts
Bonni McKeown, Corridor H Alternatives, (304) 874-3887, bmckeown@raven-villages.net ; Chuck Merritt, (304) 637-4082; David Hirsch, Friends of the Earth, (202) 783-7400 (x215), hirsch@foe.org .