Anyone know if any progress has been made over the summer on corridor H? Every new segment they add seems to shave 15 mins off the drive to canaan.

Currently there has been slow progress made on Corridor H. All sections from Wardensville to Moorefield are complete with the newest construction happening from Moorefield to Foreman. However while the first two phases of construction are done on that segment which is massive earth moving and grading, final road work isn't yet complete nor is bridge work complete. The bridge that will span the entire potomac river and head beyond Moorefield isn't slated to be finished until the summer of 2009. However as we know, no one yet has met deadlines on that highway.

The bridge is at the point where all of the piers are almost completed. I figure work will be slow going through the winter and spring as the workers try to hoist the girders into place and try to get the roadbed started. My best guess is that we will be lucky to see the bridge opened by 2009 ski season, if not spring of 2010.

Now do keep in mind, that because this segment of road stops at Foreman, WV, this may actually be a segment drivers may not want to drive who are trying to get to Snowshoe, Canaan, TL. The reason being is that once you take this segment past Moorefield, the highway starts taking a northwesterly turn before dumping drivers out at Foreman. From there drivers will have to take Patterson Creek Road south to Rt 42. This means that Canaan & TL based skiers will have to take Rt. 42 up across Scherr mountain and down 93 through Davis. If a person wanted to use the Seneca route, then drivers would have to head BACK into Petersburg which is a 5 mile drive, get on 55, and go the other way. From my early observations, this would tack on time AND extra mileage vs just getting off at Moorefield and taking Rt 55 the old way.

Until Corridor H is completed through Davis and beyond, this will present a bit of a condrum for drivers. Take it all the way to Foreman, and then backtrack? Or do the Scherr route, or not do it at all?

In other news, the local newspaper the Moorefield Examiner, printed an article 2-3 weeks ago that WV officials are trying to pressure VA officials into completing the highway to I-81. Virginia officials did agree to meet informally with WV DOT officials to hear things out, but nothing was decided on, nothing was officially recognized as a meeting either. The way I read the article was that Virginia is none to impressed with WV and the highway and will aggressively fight to prevent it from being built so they can spend their highway funds elsewhere on 95, capital beltway, etc.

Brad

Try http://www.wvcorridorh.com/route/map1.html. Seems to have a good update

Virginia is just stonewalling...holding out for Homeland Security money to pay their way...you know, gotta get the NoVA's out of town efficiently...especially during ski season

There is a method to the madness, yellowsnow... You wouldn't want us DCers to evacuate to Richmond, would you?

Hey atleast if you DCers evacuate to WV you will not be greeted by an "Open for Business" sign anymore....

Hey Lou now that's a good topic for a dcski poll , i don't think you yankees would make it in richmond and wva's only interest is passing you all through to points further west .

Won't work unless they like collard greens and peanut soup

When did they change the open for buis sign!..What is it now?

fish,

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/10914331.html

Not that fast, the second home market in WV is pretty much a DC phenomenon... And so are the coffee houses sprouting like crocus in the snow

...and, if it took DCers to get the Purple Fiddle the crowd it needs to keep going, then you've gotta give at least one huzzah for 'em. The last time I was back in WV Sandra and I went to the Fiddle and heard this bluegrass band (that was actually out of Fauquier County) and that fiddle... oh that fiddle... okay, I've had enough beer and it's Friday so I'll admit it, I started crying. There. I said it. There ain't no bluegrass like Appalachian bluegrass. I heard some wanna be bluegrass band from the Ozarks and the bozos didn't even have a banjo. And no one, and I mean NO ONE, can make a fiddle sound like a Virginian can. It's like your mom died, your dog died, AND you lost your trailer all at once and you don't need three stinkin' verses to tell the world, just a draw string and a couple notes.

Now, that said, we do have dang fine country music out here, particularly the Red Dirt crowd out of Stillwater. But I'd take bluegrass over Red Dirt...

...say, to get back on subject- will Corridor H help to speed up good bluegrass gettin' out this way? Ralph Stanley is coming on November 17th... does that mean Eddie and the Short Bus will be here soon???

Also back on topic...Brad, I've been wondering about that segment end in Forman too. From reading the Corr H website, it looks like there is significant construction scheduled to begin next summer between Forman and Scherr. Based on the segments they're building first, I wonder if they are planning to open Corr H all the way to Knobley Rd. (CR-3) or perhaps all the way to Scherr, rather than just to Forman. Even Knobley Rd. would be much better than Forman, requiring much less backtracking to 42, right? Scherr would be better still. At either of those termination points, this route would probably be faster to Davis/CV than the Seneca Rocks route, no? (Of course, the big impact will be when Scherr to Bismarck, climbing the Front, is completed. Bismarck to Davis is a speedway already.)

When it comes to the whole 'terrorist evacuation route' thing, there are alot of things there that don't make sense about applying that to Corridor H. If such a massive attack happened, or even if just a natural disaster happened (direct hurricane hit) would there be some people hitting Corridor H to head west? Absolutely, especially those who live in DC, have second homes in the area already established and have a definite place to head towards.

What bothers me with that mentality, other than it being an excuse for politicians to pork barrel questionable funding, is that when realistically looking at such a scenario it simply can't pan out like all the political big wigs want it too. We've hit on this before, but if something was to happen that caused a million or two people (even three or four) to evacuate the immediate DC area, the dispersal rate of people would follow a set statistical mathematical pattern. Such that the further distance away from a ground zero that less and less people will be evacuating in the same direction.

If such a situation ever occurred, obviously I-66 would be a nightmare, a mad rush of people heading south and north on I-95. As people pushed and migrated westward outside of the beltway, the next route would be 123 which would intersect 95 further south of the immediate DC area. Then comes 29, 234, and 28 all which would be funneling traffic south westwardly towards the Warrenton areas. Routes 50 and 7 would be jam packed giving a direct shot towards Leesburg and Winchester with US340 intersection taking people north to Charlestown, Harpers Ferry, MD and areas north. Then there would be exit 28 which is US 17 taking people to warrenton and areas south.

By the time remaining traffic gets to the Front Royal area, the natural buffer of the Skyline drive mountain range will offer an emotional and mental relief and the dispersal rate of that many people will have been well absorbed into the more immediate surrounding areas of Northern VA/MD. Finally what traffic is left is taking I-81 north or south to cities such as Winchester, Hagerstown, Staunton, so that if folks are truly in a panic heading westward their next closest option is 70/68 towards Pittsburgh, Wheeling areas. Or even 64.

With all of that in mind, it really strikes me as either I'm a genius or people in power are so utterly stupid that there really isn't anything Corridor H offers. Other than those who have such planned routes in advance to their second homes, no one is coming through this area to get dumped in... Elkins? No cell phone service between VA and there except a brief moment in Moorefield. One hotel in Moorefield, and a 5 bedroom motel in Wardensville?

The only time I truly see such an event happening is if such a terrorist attack occurred that obliviated the eastern shore, DC, and back to Manassas. However if that happened, I think we've got a slightly larger problem at hand with our national security than we admitted.

Anyway, I wanted to offer some realistic insight into that. Of which comes from common sense, and the fact I've asked some DCers who have come through this area and offered their honest opinions of what their neighbors would do in such a situation.

To answer Norsk's question, so far I haven't heard anything specific on the Foreman to Scherr section. However *IF* that was to happen, that does bring up an interesting scenario. Knobley road and Patterson Creek Road both go in a north to south direction either taking a driver to Rt 50 just east of Keyser or they take a person south to just west of Petersburg. While a Knobley Road/CH intersection places traffic closer to getting back on 42, as the name suggest, Knobley road is quite... Knobley. The quality of this road is *NOT* what I would consider to be good for people trying to get somewhere quickly. Also this road drops drivers out in the middle of Maysville meaning that at this point, a driver would have to climb Scherr mountain, head west on 93 back to Davis and then Canaan. Where as Patterson Creek Road is a little bit better and a bit more closer back to Petersburg.

Also, another interesting note, with the erection of about 150 or so windmills from Mt Storm lake north, this could present a problem for Corridor H construction, especially if the state battles NED Power over removal of those. That could present another big battle in the halting of sections of CorridorH.

Brad

That's an interesting point about the windmills. I know this is a stupid question, but don't you think the state made sure they're not going to impact CH before they let them put them in?

Clay

Good thoughts Brad but its a done deal at this point. One mans trash is another mans treasure...so I say as a skier & esspecially during these GW times where the Alpps are becoming even more important...Bring on Corr H & Bring on "Almost Heaven"!!!

Clay,

Based on the construction path of CH, I took a gander over into that area and sure enough there are groups of windmills. When I was working in the main office of the company manufacturing these windmills, their geographical maps of where the Windmills are scheduled to be erected at leaves little to no room for CH to wiggle through. One can only wonder what that means at this point.

Beyond individuals fleeing the DC area, some government departments may or may not have placed Continuation Of OPerations facilities throughout WV. The majority would be making the trek via bus or car.

It is certainly true that a number of government agencies have CoO locations in WV and conduct drills to get people there and working from time to time. Beyond that, the evactuation of the DC metro area, however unlikely, would of necessity include movement of people to WV.

My own personal evacuation plan came together just after 9/11 with the realization that 1) the government did not have a clue and to rely on them to order you about was foolish and 2) that I needed my own plan to protect my family in the event of a real disaster, natural or manmade, if the metro area became untenable.

So I bought a place in Canaan, my wife and I developed a plan for retrieving the kids, inlaws, and pets if possible, and making our way, no matter how slow and arduous, to the safety of the mountains. The key is to move quickly before the roads become impassable. So personally I hope the government uses some of its highway money to make this logical evacuation route as effective as they can. CH seems a logical outcome of such disaster planning.

On the issue of Corridor H completion as well as the real estate market, well...

As far as Government, the decision may or may not have been made several years ago. Should something happen in DC, within both, East and West of the Shenandoahs, Blue Ridge, and the Catoctins, there will likely be an exodus of government workers. Corridor H is one of the main avenues.

Check on where many of the massive government data storage facilities have been placed. And where the staging areas for much of the emergency management resources for a Mid-Atlantic event are located.

If I were to go to London, I would go to a British bookie and put money down on the chances that Corridor H will eventually join with I-66 or with I-81 and then I-66. Simple matter of a joining of the public interest with the desires of a well-heeled population that has a huge political influence, as well as the interests of the development community.

The second-home market for DC residents is still strong. Fairfax and Loudoun may be flat for primary home buyers, but the Greenbriar is selling their choice properties for millions apiece, Sawmill Village at Snowshoe is going into their second phase starting at 800K, and although the flipper market is dead (thank God), the second home buyers are still purchasing. Many of these are not even interested in renting their properties.

The other side is the fact that over the past seven years, as the middle class has taken it in the shorts, those with wealth have done unbelievably well, which will impact WV real estate. With the DC area having a disproportionate share of its residents in the top 5 percent of income earners in the US, many of these folks have the disposable income to spend on real estate purchases that will put them an easy drive from their homes for either pleasure or necessity. Please check the recent Associated Press article which appeared in the Washington Post, the Charleston Gazette and the Martinsburg Journal last week:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/26/AR2007102600959.html

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2007102748

http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/500207.html

Not all wealthier individuals want to go on their Lear Jets and join Mick Jagger on his flight to Nova Scotia to see a total eclipse of the sun... (I guess I'm dating myself) or Deer Valley for that matter. Remember that the main reason why they are wealthy is because they can manage their money.

Want some more data? Giuliani's presence this past August courting the DC and Virginia retirees at the Greenbriar as well as his appearence last September in Morgantown, which together gave him a $300K chest. And Clinton's WV million-dollar campaign windfall.

So... I would gather to say the crystal ball's scenery has the Big H over the large 81 ball....

Interesting article. It also appeared in the Durham or Raleigh, NC, Sunday paper a week ago. I almost cut it out to paste on DCSki. The word continues to spread about the WV Alpps!
I also agree that the leg of corridor H between WV and VA interstates will be completed. When??? who knows?
The Colonel