Press Release--April 28, 1999

CHARLESTON, WV, April 28, 1999--Corridor H, the controversial $1.5 billion four-lane proposed to run from Elkins, WV east to the Virginia line, was named the No. 1 most wasteful and damaging highway project in the nation by Friends of the Earth and Taxpayers for Common Sense in their 1999 "Road to Ruin" report. Leaders of Corridor H Alternatives released the report at the State Capitol in Charleston on Wednesday April 28.

"Corridor H is not needed, given the light traffic in the Potomac and Allegheny highlands," said David Hirsch, Transportation Policy Coordinator, Friends of the Earth. "It cuts through the Monongahela and George Washington National Forests, takes farmland , encourages large sprawling chain stores to take business away from small town Main Streets, and promotes high speed through truck traffic. There are better ways to have safer roads in West Virginia's highlands. We see the improvement of main two-lane highways as the best way to help safer and more efficient travel while protecting the special places of our region."

"Instead of the big government solution of building this project, highway officials should cut the pork and make choices just like average taxpayers do every day," said Ralph DeGennaro, Executive Director, Taxpayers for Commmon Sense.

"Why spend $15 million a mile on one big road? We can spend $2 to $10 million on each bad curve or bridge on several different main highways in our area, and the money will go a lot farther," said Chuck Merritt, spokesman for Corridor H Alternatives. Even the influx of federal money from last year's pork-laden TEA-21 highway bill does not provide half the cost of building Corridor H, he said.

Merritt added, "Highway officials should be looking at real transportation needs and safety problems in each area of our state instead of planning where to build the next big road." He pointed out that large road plans have drawn opposition across the state. A prooposed expansion of Route 219 faces opposition in rural Monroe and Greenbrier Counties. Residents of Fayetteville and Summersville have been unable to support cloverleafs on Corridor L that would make the intersections safer but would tear down many homes and businesses. Citizen groups have also been fighting plans for large new highways paralleling the current Routes 9 and 522 in the Eastern Panhandle.

A recent federal appeals court decision has held up construction all but 4.25 miles of Corridor H pending evaluations of all historic sites along the 100 mile project. The 4.25 miles, part of a separate northwest bypass of Elkins, was agreed to by Corridor H Alternatives. The agreement prohibits the WV Division of Highways from taking any more right of way til the history studies are resolved.

The court decision did not require the Highway Division to study the alternative of improving existing roads along the entire length of Corridor H. However, Merritt pointed out, WVDOH still has the option of making careful iprovements, such as passing lanes and curve realignments, to existing two-lane roads as a way to avoid impacts to many of the historic sites along the route.

The 50 highways in the Road to Ruin report were nomninated by local citizens organizations and individuals, then researched by Taxpayers for Common Sense and Friends of the Earth. The Top 10 were selected by ranking the roads by coast to taxpayers, impact on the environment, and whether they induce sprawl.