Published October 1994 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd The Promise of Corridor H
Economic prosperity flows along concrete rivers. For nearly thirty years, the people of West Virginia and the other twelve Appalachian States have been promised interconnected streams of asphalt -- the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Corridor Highways -- that would serve as inlets for economic opportunities. But, since 1965, when the ARC Corridors were roughly mapped out in legislation to authorize the Commission, the promise of a completed ARC Corridor Highway system has remained unfulfilled. I am working to remedy that. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have increased the federal share of funding for Corridor Highway construction, recognizing that industry and jobs would otherwise find only limited passage into the mountains and valleys of Appalachia. Further, I was able to include the entire Corridor Highway System, as well as U.S. 52 in Southern West Virginia, as part of the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (IS TEA). As a result of my efforts, West Virginia -- the only state entirely within the region identified as Appalachia -- has seen reenergized progress on Corridor Highway construction in recent years. Since 1989, I have added to appropriations bills the full federal share needed to complete construction of Corridor G from Charleston, to Logan, to Williamson, and the total federal portion of funds required to upgrade to four lanes the full length of Corridor L, which runs from I- 79 near Sutton to I-64 near Beckley. In addition, over recent years, I have added $10 million to a bill for planning and design of the Parkersburg Bypass of Corridor D and $160.5 million to several bills for construction on Corridor H. This year, based on the West Virginia Division of Highways' decision that work could begin next year on additional sections of Corridor H, I added $110 million to two federal appropriations bills, which have been signed into law, to enable the project to move forward without delay. This new funding brings to $270.5 million the total monies I have added to federal appropriations bills to help ensure that the dotted lines that now signify Corridor H on West Virginia road maps will be filled in over the coming years. In the meantime, the federal government must continue to make good on its nearly 30-year-old promise to the people of West Virginia, and I will keep fighting to see that Corridor H from Weston to Wardensville is eventually completed, opening Central West Virginia to further economic growth. October 5, 1994