MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Work on Corridor H between Bismarck and Forman is included as part of a $4.5 million appropriation secured by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.

Corridor H is the only unfinished corridor highway in West Virginia as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System, according to Byrd’s office. It is planned to stretch from Interstate 79 at Weston through the Potomac Highlands to the Virginia state line.

“Corridor H is my transportation crusade,” said Byrd. “This additional funding contributes to that mission.”

Nearly 66 miles of the corridor in West Virginia have been completed and are open to traffic. An additional 23 miles are under construction and a 19-mile segment is under final design and awaiting funding. Byrd has secured more than $350 million in past appropriations bills for Corridor H construction. 

The completion of a 7-mile segment and the bridge over the South Branch of the Potomac was celebrated Thursday as well as the groundbreaking for a 10-mile segment to connect the western edge of the Moorefield Bridge to Patterson Creek Road and Forman.

In a new development, which could help accelerate additional funding for Corridor H, Byrd had language inserted into the Transportation Appropriations Bill that would require the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security to examine whether Corridor H could be designated as a major evacuation route for the Washington, D.C. area in the event of an all-hazards disaster.

Byrd is also spearheading an effort to reauthorize the Appalachian Development Highway System, a network of highways and corridors that was designed to provide access to and from communities in Appalachia. Joining Byrd in introducing the legislation was Sen. Jay Rockefeller. The current authorization is set to expire Sept. 30. The legislation would allow the Appalachian states to continue to make progress in completing the system.

The appropriations bill approved in the Senate on Thursday by a 73-25 vote also includes $1.5 million for the Hardy County Complex Access Road that the county’s Rural Development Authority plans to build in the West Virginia Eastern Community and Technical College area.

An additional $1 million is included to relocate the Hampshire County Special Services Center in Romney. The center serves people with developmental disabilities and is the largest employer of people with developmental disabilities in the area. The relocation will allow for the expansion of services provided by the center.