CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal grant will advance construction of a portion of Corridor H in West Virginia.
Gov. Jim Justice and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito on Monday announced the $12 million funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. It will help pay for a section of U.S. Route 48 in Tucker County.
Justice approved nearly $176 million for the project last year. It is the second of five phases of work on the four-lane highway from Kerens to Parsons. The work includes designing, grading and draining about four miles from the U.S. Route 219 connector to the state Route 72 interchange.
Corridor H is among the last uncompleted sections of the Appalachian highway system proposed more than 50 years ago in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
The highway is intended to run 130 miles from Interstate 79 at Weston to the Virginia border. Proponents say it would open the rural region to economic development.
