2 West Virginia communities continue battle with Corridor H
WARDENSVILLE, W.Va. (WBOY) — While residents in Tucker County, West Virginia have fought to have the four-lane Corridor H highways bypass their towns and tourism hubs, a small town in Hardy County is worried that the new highway will turn it into a ghost town.
On April 22, the West Virginia Division of Highways held a public hearing in Hardy County on the Wardensville to Virginia section of the project.
Most of Corridor H, which will be 132 miles of highway connecting Interstate 79 in Weston, West Virginia to Interstate 81 in Strasburg, Virginia, is already complete, but the sections in Tucker County and Hardy County are still in the planning stages, largely due to pushback from the communities.
About 80 people attended Tuesday's meeting, in-person and virtually, and most of them spoke against the current proposal for the 6.8-mile section of highway, according to a press release from the environmental group, Friends of Blackwater.
Smoke from Virginia fire seen in West Virginia
The proposed Corridor H route bypasses Wardensville, going south of the current Main Street. Residents are concerned that traffic going around the town instead of through it will turn the community they have worked hard to revitalize into a 'ghost town.'
'This road to nowhere is bypassing somewhere—the town of Wardensville,' said Kirsten Johnson, who works at Macks Bingo restaurant on Main Street.
Other residents are concerned about the loss of land containing fishing streams, recreational trails and family farms that have been around for generations. Several environmental groups also spoke, emphasizing that the highway will cut into protected land in the George Washington National Forest and that construction could negatively impact wellhead protected areas.
Those in favor of the four-lane voiced their support for creating a safer road than the current two-lane W.Va. Route 55, which has some dangerous curves and steep grades.
The timeline on the WVDOH's website estimates that construction will begin this summer.
Public comments are still being accepted by the WVDOH online here until June 1. A full video of the April 22 meeting is available here. Additional details about the Corridor H Wardensville to Virginia project are available here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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