WV officials call for highway P3

Local officials in West Virginia are calling on the Governor to use P3 to complete the Corridor H road project

Randolph County Economic Development Authority Director and Corridor H Authority President Robbie Morris told a press conference in Kerens that it is possible to finish Corridor H by 2020 if Governor Earl Ray Tomblin approves to use of P3.

Due to current levels of federal funding the scheme’s projected completion date is from 2036.
The highway in West Virginia is 75% complete or under construction and will increase to 87% by 2018.

Under the Corridor H Authority’s proposals, a P3 will finance the construction on the remaining 13% of unfunded road from Kerens to Virginia. The 75-mile stretch is expected to cost approximately $700m.

In 1964, Congress authorized the Appalachian Corridor System to connect Appalachia to the rest of the world with limited access four-lane highways. In West Virginia, every Corridor but Corridor H is completed.

Stretching 130 miles from I-79 at Weston, West Virginia it runs to the Virginia border where it is designed to travel an additional 13 miles to the I-66/I-81 junction near Front Royal, Virginia.

Morris said: "We strongly believe that Corridor H can benefit from the use of P3, similar to other projects in West Virginia."

Project leaders are expecting to hear back from the government on their request this summer.