By Bonni McKeown, Stewards of the Potomac Highlands
Stewards of the Potomac Highlands and Virginia Wilderness Committee have provided the following information to address some of the common claims and questions surrounding WVDOH’s proposal to build the seven-mile section of Corridor H from the western edge of Wardensville in eastern Hardy County to the Virginia line. Media coverage has often focused on the “Build-It” narrative, and we believe it is important that the public also have access to information about the concerns surrounding the proposed project. We present this fact sheet as an information source for future news stories.
MYTH: Corridor H will connect I-79 with I-66 and I-81 at Strasburg, Va.
FACT: Though Corridor H was originally proposed to reach 15 miles inside the Virginia line to Strasburg, Virginia, transportation agencies went on record in 1995 as refusing to build the four-lane. The Virginia Department of Transportation reaffirmed its position in a 2025 report that the current two-lane is acceptable through 2102.
Corridor H Authority still circulates maps with the I-66 and I-81 connection, but WVDOH’s contested seven-mile Wardensville-to-Virginia-line project has the four-lane highway abruptly ending at the state line, funneling into two-lane Route 55.
MYTH: WVDOH has done adequate environmental studies, and there are no major issues in the Wardensville-to-Virginia-line section of Corridor H.
FACT: WVDOH has done its studies, but with no consideration of any alternative to building a four-lane. WVDOH acknowledges a public water supply threat in Wardensville. Corridor H would tear through the Andersons Ridge aquifer on the southern edge of Wardensville and blast through Great North Mountain on the West Virginia-Virginia border, including George Washington National Forest scenic areas, with unknown effects on trout stream tributaries of the Cacapon River and the groundwater in this area of sandstone/limestone geology.
Also, bypassing Wardensville’s historic Main Street, Corridor H would harm local businesses that have worked for nearly 20 years to revitalize the community. WVDOH’s Environmental Assessment documented these issues, suggesting mitigation measures, but failed to consider spot safety improvements to Route 55 as an alternative to building this four-lane section.
MYTH: Appalachian corridors are required to be four-lane in design.
FACT: Parts of Appalachian Corridor K in North Carolina and Tennessee are built as two- and three-lane highways to avoid environmental impacts there. Such an approach might save money in West Virginia.
References:
Ways South — Corridor K Should Be a Model for Future Highway Projects
Tennessee Department of Transportation — Corridor K Meeting Handout
Route 55/US 48 (John Marshall Highway) Corridor H Study – VDOT, November 2025