The Allegheny Parkway – Part I

By Jody Brumage
For decades, Senator Robert C. Byrd succeeded in passing legislation which designed and constructed West Virginia’s 424 miles of the Appalachian Corridor Highways. The documents and photographs in the Robert C. Byrd Congressional Papers Collection illuminate the difficult task of achieving congressional approval for these massive infrastructure projects and reveal his first unsuccessful attempt to win approval for a proposed scenic highway in eastern and southern West Virginia. The lessons of this decade-long battle undoubtedly helped to prepare Senator Byrd for his later successes in winning the support of the federal government for major infrastructure improvements in West Virginia.
​

The original planned route of the Allegheny Parkway, linking western Maryland to southwestern Kentucky.

The idea of a scenic parkway connecting major U.S. Highways through the heart of the Appalachian Region was rooted in the fight for legislation to authorize redevelopment in economically depressed areas. The Area Redevelopment Act, signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and the subsequent Appalachian Regional Development Act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 created a mechanism for funneling appropriations money to support much needed infrastructure improvements.

Senator Byrd sponsored four bills in the 87th, 88th, 89th, and 91st Congresses to gain federal support for the construction of the Allegheny Parkway, a scenic highway originally conceived to link Hagerstown, Maryland to Cumberland Gap, Kentucky. Designed to connect major U.S. highways, the parkway was described as a key solution to bringing the Appalachian Region out of an economic depression which had existed for decades. For Senator Byrd, the parkway’s intended route through West Virginia would open the door for tourism to flourish among some of the state’s most celebrated attractions.

   On May 3, 1961, Senator Byrd introduced Senate Bill 1798, “A bill to provide for the establishment and administration of the Allegheny Parkway in the States of West Virginia and Kentucky and Maryland.” The bill was sent to the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and scheduled for hearing in the spring of 1962. Senator Byrd testified in the hearing, declaring the project to be “a roadway to the regeneration of many areas of economic distress and chronic unemployment.” By the summer of 1962, the Department of the Interior proposed a 1-year study of the feasibility of the parkway, a measure which was supported by Senator Byrd. While the study was taking place, the first of many problems for the project arose when it was discovered that part of the route for the highway conflicted with the planned Highland Scenic Highway which had been proposed by West Virginia Senator Jennings Randolph. The study was also underfunded due  to the striking of additional funding for the Department of the Interior by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senator Byrd meets with members of the National Park Service Parkways Branch in November 1962 to discuss the proposed route for the highway.

Senator Byrd introduced Senate Bill 10 at the opening of the 88th Congress to keep the Allegheny Parkway on the floor for consideration. The bill was nearly identical to the previous version except that it contained  provisions to include spurs of the parkway at certain scenic destinations. The Department of the Interior completed its feasibility study in the spring of 1964. Though the dispute with Senator Randolph’s Highlands Scenic Highway was settled in the study, the lack of full funding for the project pushed the date for construction back to 1966. Further complicating the progress of the project, the Bureau of the Budget would not consent to the parkway project without its prioritization among a dozen other similar projects currently being debated by Congress. Senator Byrd addressed these points in a memo to the President on June 5, 1964.
​
At the end of the 88th Congress, the Allegheny Parkway’s future remained very much in question. Despite the problems from the Interior Department and the Bureau of the Budget, the project was endorsed by the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission. With the passage of the Appalachian Regional Development Act in early 1965 and the unveiling of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” Senator Byrd recognized another opportunity to push for approval of the Allegheny Parkway in the upcoming 89th Congress.