By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Friends of the Blackwater hosted an informational Town Hall at the Mountain Top Senior Center in Thomas about the proposed routes of Corridor H. The group have been staunch supporters of the Go North agenda and northern route of the interstate.
Hugh Rogers of Corridor H Alternatives presented the history of Corridor H, as it pertained to efforts to have the route moved for environmental and other reasons. He was a member of one of the 15 plaintiff groups in a federal lawsuit in 1996 over the historic district that included the railroad grade and coke ovens. The case ended in a judgment that both parties had to come to an agreement and find common ground, Rogers said. An agreement was found in 1997. As part of that agreement, however, none of the groups could be part of any future litigation over the route, according to Rogers.
“Corridor H Alternatives and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy were the lead plaintiffs, there were 15 plaintiffs altogether, who sued and said you haven’t done it right, you haven’t taken full account of every environmental impact and you’ve ignored the historic areas,” Rogers said.
Next to speak during the event was Matt Marcus. Marcus has been a longtime member of the Tucker County bicycle community and is the former owner and current manager of Blackwater Bikes in Davis. Marcus spoke about the trail systems in the area and how the trails tie into the local economy and tourism.
“I think all our tourism here is based on trails,” Marcus said. “Skiers have trails, whitewater rivers, they are considered trails. Of course there are hiking and biking trails. Pretty much anyone that comes here on a tourism related basis, is coming here for the trails.”
Marcus said that the ROPA route would affect northern Tucker County the most, including its trails. Tucker County is home to several trails that lead into other states, regions and even internationally into Canada including: the Allegheny Highlands Trail that leads to Bismark, WV; WV Railroad Heritage National Trail that leads to Cumberland, MD; the Allegheny Trail that leads to Mason Dixon Line, PA; Eastern Divide Trail to Key West, FL; the GRUSK Route to Spruce Knob; Allegheny Trail to Peters Mountain, VA; American Discovery Trail to Cape Henlopen State Park, DE and the Eastern Divide Trail to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Marcus also said he felt a northern route would be safer for Thomas. He spoke about semi trucks carrying anhydrous ammonia to the power plant traveling through town and the dangers they pose should one wreck on Front Street. An accident of an anhydrous tanker truck on Front Street would cause a Mass Casualty Event, according to Marcus.
The need to get traffic out of town in Thomas as sentiment that was echoed by several in attendance.
Judy Rodd of the Friends of the Blackwater spoke on the Go North Route. The route would build in existing areas through much of the route, according to Rodd. The group also claimed the route would possibly save tens of millions of dollars due to differences in bridge locations.
“They could build in an area that is already disturbed,” Rodd said. “Where we know there are no cultural resources, there are no rare species and you get to the High School and you stay in front of the High School. You do not go behind the High School like highways have proposed years and years ago.”
The West Virginia Department of Highways were scheduled to release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement June 6th on the project. However, due to delays in the project, the final environmental report and route selection is scheduled to be published on June 4th 2027.
Construction of the 9 mile Parsons to Davis section of Corridor H is not scheduled to begin until sometime around 2027.
The Friends of the Blackwater held two sessions on April 7th. The first Town Hall was at 2 p.m. followed by a second at 7 p.m. Both were held at the Mountain Top Senior Center in Thomas.
