It is possible to avoid sensitive areas with an alternative route to the proposed ROPA.

• We want to avoid dividing the towns of Davis and Thomas.
• We want to avoid a massive bridge over the Douglas area, which would adversely impact Blackwater Falls State Park and the historic Blackwater Industrial Complex.
• We want to avoid disturbance of old strip mines, underground mines, and pools of acid mine drainage that would threaten our streams and rivers.
• We want to avoid disturbing the headwaters of the unique Big Run Bog, designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
• We need to drastically limit construction within the designated 100-year floodplains.
• We want minimal impact on our natural trout streams (Tier 3 streams) and avoidance of natural wetlands.

We believe it is important to preserve the high quality of life in Tucker County and our future children and residents.

• We need a highway design that will not conflict with a people-friendly greenway between Thomas and Davis.
• We want the highway to avoid sensitive areas such as our library, our schools, our town and state parks, and our water supply.
• We want a safe road, with adequate accommodations for rain, snow, and fog within the maintenance capacity of our local highway department, benefiting our EMS and fire departments.
• We want to protect the stretch between Thomas and Davis which is used by the Allegheny Highland Trail, Allegheny Trail, American Discovery Trail, Eastern Divide Trail, the proposed WV Railroad Heritage Trail from Thomas to Cumberland, and the Great Allegheny Passage Trail from Thomas to Pittsburgh.

We can learn from recent mistakes.

• A massive landslide between Elkins and Kerens resulted from misunderstood geology.
• Similarly, bridge piers for crossing US 219 near Moore slipped down the hillside, because of incorrect assessment of geologic stability and unanticipated underground streams.
• A Corridor H bridge over the Lost River near Moorefield collapsed during construction.
• Faulty design of the Pearcy Run Bridge near Kerens, opened for traffic in 2002, required closure for reconstruction in 2021-2022.
• Over 50 violations, based on 336 instances of non-compliance with sedimentation limits, have been reported during construction of Corridor H between 2017 and 2022.

We believe the accommodations made for Corridor K construction in North Carolina and Tennessee may be relevant and applicable to our mountainous terrain, especially between Mackeyville and Tucker County High School.

• We want special care to be taken as the roadway is proposed in a steep (and beautiful) area with unstable geology, through National Forest lands and headwaters of high-quality streams.

View the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s Corridor H information page and interactive map to explore construction-related impacts. 

For more information and to show your support visit go-northcorridorh.org

Photo by Frank Gebhard.