Morris

ELKINS — Even though State Senator Robbie Morris is busy in Charleston at the Legislative session, he took time this week to reflect on 2025 and look forward to what lies ahead in 2026.

“It was a great year for Randolph County and the Randolph County Development Authority in 2025,” Morris, R- 11th District, told The Inter-Mountain. “We began construction on the new Railyard Event and Conference Center, the new dorm at Davis & Elkins College opened, and the WVU Medicine Elkins Corridor Medical Center began seeing patients.”

Morris, who is the executive director of the Randolph County Development Authority, said another ongoing RCDA project, the Industrial Park expansion, has also recently begun moving forward, and that broadband projects in the area will continue to grow.

“Permits were issued for the new Industrial Park expansion,” Morris said. “That project will add an additional 44 acres of developable land for business growth. Further development on that park will continue in 2026, and broadband expansion projects that took off in the second half of 2025 will continue through the new year.

“The new Industrial Park in Elkins has been named a top site in the West Virginia Department of Commerce’s YESWV program, and we believe development opportunities will grow in 2026.”

Morris said that many of the area’s broadband expansion projects will be hitting their peak in 2026.

“This will connect more and more of Randolph County with high-speed fiber broadband,” Morris said. “These broadband projects will close the digital divide in Randolph County. Once completed, Randolph County will be one of the most connected counties in West Virginia.”

Morris said the RCDA plans to give another Industrial Park in the county a push in the upcoming year as well.

“The Huttonsville Industrial Park will also be marketed more heavily in 2026, making that an exciting opportunity for the county,” Morris said.

Morris said the opening of the Event and Conference Center in downtown Elkins, as well as a new section of Corridor H, will provide a big boost to tourism in the area. The Event Center, which is being constructed behind the Elkins Railroad Depot on 11th Street, is a 28,000 square-foot, $11.6 million facility. The venue is expected to be completed this year.

“We are excited to bring the Railyard Event and Conference Center online,” Morris said. “That will be a game-changer for the tourism industry in Randolph County. A large portion of the Kerens to Parson section of Corridor H will open by Memorial Day, and we believe this will be the tipping point for additional traffic traveling Corridor H. That provides numerous opportunities for Elkins and Randolph County.”

Morris, who is also chairman of the Corridor H Highway Authority, announced in December that the section of highway from Kerens to Parsons will be open by the May holiday.