WARDENSVILLE – A new contract for Corridor H has been awarded to extend the highway from Wardensville to the Virginia state line. This is the first contract to be awarded by the West Virginia Division of Highways for the Wardensville section.

Triton Construction Inc. was awarded the $85,425,000 contract to fabricate the approximately 3.74 mile section from Trout Run Cutoff Road to Waites Run Road, according to the state Department of Transportation. The Triton contract includes grading and drainage work, two bridges to be built across Trout Run and paving for the first 1.5 miles of new highway.

Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh said, “Awarding the initial construction project for the Wardensville to Virginia state line section of Corridor H is a major milestone. Thanks to the steady dedication of our WVDOH staff, we are moving past the years of debate and taking a massive step closer to completion.”

The DOH awarded the Waites Run Road contract from a “special bid letting” that was conducted on June 16. This project is the first of four planned for the 6.8 miles from Wardensville to the state line of Virginia.

According to the Corridor H Authority, the current completion schedule includes the Wardensville to Virginia section to be open in the end of 2032 and the Parsons to Davis section to be complete in the end of 2034, almost 70 years since the project began.

Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. secured a $47 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. Included in the grant was $23 million for the Corridor H Waites Run to Virginia State Line Project.

As of last month, approximately 112 miles of Corridor H are open to traffic, with the latest section being opened June 22, from Kerens to Parsons. The 11-mile segment was celebrated with a ribbon cutting and more than 100 community members, representatives and local officials, in addition to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Capito and state Sen. Robbie Morris, R-11th District.

The Kerens to Parsons section isone of the largest constructed segments of Corridor H and had been a work in progress since September 2000, when the first design plans were created. Construction of bridges began in 2018, and paving contracts were awarded in 2021 after the DOT awarded $12 million to West Virginia in 2020 for this section.

Phase two’s (Kerens to Parsons) opening date was repeatedly delayed, starting from the original date in 2023, was then moved to 2025 and then once again was deferred to this June, when the segment officially opened. The long-awaited ribbon cutting ceremony was described as a celebration of momentum, not a “final victory,” Morrisey said.

The Corridor H project began in 1965 as part of the Appalachian Regional Development Act, which was passed to initiate economic growth in the rural areas of Appalachia. The original plan detailed a four-lane highway that runs from Weston to Strasburg, Virginia, where it meets Virginia Route 55.

Despite its economic benefits, various lawsuits and controversy have surrounded Corridor H since its beginning, with many concerns residing around the environmental impact of the project and disrupting West Virginia’s diverse ecosystem. One environmental analysis in 2002 for the Parsons to Davis section discovered the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel, an endangered species at the time, and the project was delayed for an extended duration. Over time, multiple teams have come together to plan the least environmentally disruptive route for Corridor H, but constant debates over impact for ecosystems, land owners and historic and natural sites have led to the long process and slow progress.

In December 1999, Corridor H was divided into nine projects, from the city of Elkins to the Virginia state line. Last month’s opening of the Kerens to Parsons segment leaves only two sections that remain unopened and approximately 20 miles left to be completed. The two remaining unopened segments are from Parsons to Davis and Wardensville to the Virginia border.

There are plans to continue Corridor H across the Virginia state line and connect with Interstate 81. The Corridor H Authority describes how the connection would provide “much-needed access to international ports for West Virginia manufacturers and new jobs for Virginia as those goods come from the Mountain State.”