WV Route 2 and I-68 Authority

06/16/2026

"(Congressman Riley) Moore (R-WV) Announces $1 million for (Steubenville to WV Route 2) Bridge Replacement Planning During Weirton Stop"
The Intelligencer/News-Register .. Wheeling, WV
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
CRAIG HOWELL .. for The Intelligencer

STEUBENVILLE – Area officials gathered near the Market Street Bridge Monday afternoon to celebrate a milestone in the efforts to eventually build a replacement for the 121-year-old span.

“Sorry, but the old girl has found its last place,” Mike Paprocki, executive director of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, said in addressing those standing near the visitors center at Historic Fort Steuben.

Those in attendance included U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., who, through his work on the House Appropriations Committee, was able to secure $1 million to assist with the costs of engineering and design work for a new river crossing.

“This is a really important step to get this moving forward,” Moore said.

The Market Street Bridge was closed to traffic in December 2023 after routine inspections identified continuing deterioration in some of the bridge’s cable anchorages.

According to timelines presented by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, engineering and environmental work should continue through 2027, with the development of contract plans and rights-of-way acquisitions running through 2028, and construction potentially being complete sometime in 2031.

There have been several options presented as part of the process of selecting a location for the new bridge.

The first five would see the construction of a new bridge crossing to connect West Virginia Route 2 between Weirton and Follansbee with a point in Steubenville. Those selected crossing possibilities include Ross Street, Logan Street, Washington Street, Market Street and South Street.

Another option would be not to build any new structure, with officials noting the existing Market Street Bridge would eventually need to be removed because of public safety concerns. The seventh option, rehabilitation of the current Market Street Bridge, is essentially off the table, according to officials, because of its deterioration and failure to meet safety standards.

Close to $90 million in federal funding previously was appropriated toward the project.

Moore promised to keep looking for ways to support the bridge replacement, saying both he and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have opportunities to seek funding through the congressional appropriations process.

“We’re going to continue to work,” he said. “We have a pretty good one-two punch.”

Moore also noted support in the effort from U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, whose district includes Jefferson County.

Officials with the WVDOT and BHJ recently held a pair of public meetings — one in Follansbee and another in Steubenville — where residents were able to learn more about potential options for the bridge replacement and offer their thoughts.

“The comment period is still open,” Paprocki said, noting residents can offer thoughts on the plans until June 22. “We take those comments seriously.”

Project information and a comment sheet can be found online at go.wv.gov/dotcomment, with comments also mailed to West Virginia Department of Transportation, Engineering Division, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., East Building 5, Room 820, Charleston, WV 25305.

https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/community/2026/06/moore-announces-1-million-for-bridge-replacement-planning-during-weirton-stop/

STEUBENVILLE – Area officials gathered near the Market Street Bridge Monday afternoon to celebrate a milestone in the efforts to eventually build a replacement for the 121-year-old span. “Sorry, but the old girl has found its last place,” Mike Paprocki, executive director of the Brooke-Hancock...

06/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1M8VMbdccR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Highways provided an update on the Corridor H construction status on Dec. 8, 2025, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on Department

06/04/2026

DECEMBER 10, 2017

“Marshall County commissioner, Trump Special Assistant discuss I-68 expansion effort”
DECEMBER 10, 2017
by Linda Harris STAFF WRITER.. WV STATE JOURNAL

Marshall County Commissioner Bob Miller took the case for extending I-68 to the White House Friday.

Miller said he spent nearly an hour with Bill Kirkland, special assistant to the president and deputy director of White House intergovernmental affairs, explaining what extending the interstate from Morgantown to Moundsville could mean to West Virginia and the oil and gas industry. He said the meeting was Kirkland's idea.

“It was, literally, a discussion,” he said. “There's nothing in writing, nothing has been confirmed, but at least we have a dialogue going in that direction. And how many projects in West Virginia can say the White House cares enough to begin a conversation to help move things forward? We're still trying evaluate what they can do, but there's a willingness that they will help us if they can — it's not at the point where they know if they can do anything, but at least we're in discussions to find out what can be done to help us.”

Miller said he'd sent Kirkland a letter detailing his thoughts on how expanding I-68 “would open the area up and how it could accelerate the growth of the industry and make the hard-to-access areas of the county much more accessible.”

“It wasn't a day before I had a reply from (him) saying we definitely needed to talk,” he said.

Miller said the project clicks with couple of the Trump administration's priorities — energy independence and infrastructure upgrades. [USA Manufacturing too]
“Those two things together are two major reasons to build the road,” Miller said. “We're not going to build the road tomorrow (because of this meeting), there's no guarantee we'll get federal money. But having White House support and influence to make some other funding tools available would be invaluable. This could be one where we can use their guidance and the administration's bully pulpit to let more people know the importance of this project, to emphasize why it needs to be done as fast as possible.”

He said he's not sure what, if anything, will come of it, though they'd love to tap into federal funding sources. But even if there's no funding opportunities, “White House involvement could be at a higher level, maybe encouraging true public-private partnerships," Miller said. "He [President Trump] would have more influence to get those people to come on board than a Marshall County commissioner would have. Having the White House involved, that interaction, changes the entire tone when you're dealing with those things.”

Miller said he also pitched some of his ideas on how they could make it more affordable, such as talking to CSX and pipeline companies about the feasibility of sharing the same rights-of-ways. “Sharing rights-of-ways would drastically reduce costs, and that's something I believe the White House could help facilitate,” he said.

He said he's also pointed out how the extension could help Ohio's development efforts. Dilles Bottom, the community where PTT Global is considering building a $6 billion-plus ethane cracker, is just minutes from Moundsville, so extending I-68 extension would bring Baltimore Harbor within a day's drive.

“It would help Ohio from the standpoint that it would help PTT Global and related industries that will follow in Ohio if they decide to build the (cracker) there,” he said.

Miller said Kirkland suggested meeting again.

Staff writer Linda Harris can be reached at 304-374-0403 or email [email protected]

https://www.wvnews.com/statejournal/marshall-county-commissioner-trump-assistant-discuss-i--expansion-effort/article_5517e1b8-9d98-5eb2-aad5-b9e4c3c448ba.html

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HyEMymdSx/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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06/04/2026

“Kerens to Parsons section of Corridor H set for a delayed open in late June”
by Taylor Beam .. STAFF WRITER
May 28, 2026

ELKINS, W.Va. — A section of Corridor H from Kerens to Parsons that was expected to open by Memorial Day is now projected to open to traffic by the end of June after winter weather delayed construction.

“It’s looking like a three-week delay, hopefully,” said Robbie Morris, executive director of the Randolph County Development Authority and chairman of the Corridor H Highway Authority.

“When talking about delays on Corridor H, three weeks is nothing compared to the years and decades of delays that it seems we’ve had,” Morris said.

Morris said the West Virginia Division of Highways plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening.

“This section will connect all the way from Interstate 79 in Weston to Parsons, which is the county seat of Tucker County,” Morris said. “There’s a big interchange in Parsons, and the Kingsford charcoal plant is also a source of a lot of truck traffic in Tucker.”

“Everything heading west will now have a four-lane highway to work with rather than U.S. Route 219, which is a two-lane country road,” he said.

Morris said the new section is expected to help commuters who regularly travel between Randolph and Tucker counties for work.

“Especially with the winters that we have in this region of West Virginia, the more of Corridor H that we can get completed, the safer it is to travel,” Morris said.

“It would be really great to have not only this section complete, but the entire Corridor H project,” he said.

Development of West Virginia’s Appalachian Corridor highways began in 1965 after U.S. Sen. Jennings Randolph helped create the Appalachian Regional Commission, according to e-WV, the West Virginia Encyclopedia. The Appalachian Development Highway System was designed to connect isolated Appalachian communities to interstate highways and encourage economic development throughout the region.

West Virginia’s portion of the system included six designated corridors: D, E, G, H, L and Q. Corridor H is the only one that remains unfinished.

According to e-WV, Corridor H will eventually connect Interstate 79 at Weston to Interstate 81 near Strasburg, Virginia. The project has faced decades of debate and legal challenges over economic development and environmental concerns in eastern West Virginia.

About 75% of Corridor H had been completed as of 2025, according to e-WV. Prior to the Kerens-to-Parsons segment, the highway was open from Weston to Kerens in Randolph County and from Davis to Wardensville in Hardy County.

State officials broke ground on the Kerens-to-Parsons section in June 2023. Additional sections extending from Wardensville to the Virginia state line are not expected to begin construction until at least 2027, according to e-WV.

A projected completion date for the entire Corridor H project remains uncertain as officials continue working through funding and planning for the remaining sections extending toward Virginia.

By Taylor Beam
STAFF WRITER

05/27/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DyY26UQi7/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/14/2026

CBO (Congressional Budget Office) Releases Infographics About the Federal Budget in Fiscal Year 2025

Posted by Dan Ready on March 30, 2026

View CBO's budget infographics to see how much the federal government spent and took in during fiscal year 2025, as well as broader trends in the budget over the past few decades.

04/11/2026

"Shale Crescent USA sells region to the world
Business"
News and Sentinel.. Parkersburg, WV
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Brett Dunlap..Reporter
[email protected]

Shale Crescent USA President Nathan Lord and Lynnda Kozera talk to foreign companies at the Shale Crescent booth at the SelectUSA show in May 2025 in Washington, D.C. Shale Crescent officials are talking to companies around the world on why being in this region, including the Mid-Ohio Valley, is a good way to grow their business as the area has a large supply of natural gas. (Photo provided)
As the rest of the country and the world looks at development of natural gas resources, representatives of Shale Crescent USA have traveled around the world explaining why businesses would want to locate along the Ohio River Valley.
Shale Crescent USA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage business growth in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They emphasize low natural gas prices that allow manufacturers to operate more efficiently while producing products more economically with access to water, half the population of the United States and Canada, and 70% of U.S. polyethylene and 77% of polypropylene demand, according to the organization’s website.
Shale Crescent has participated in multiple U.S. Commercial Services Roadshows, which are designed to provide international companies with information about expanding their businesses to the United States. The most recent was from Feb. 17 to March 1 when the team joined development representatives from 20 states in the European Roadshow, covering seven cities across the Netherlands, Belgium and France. The event was attended by over 200 vetted companies interested in U.S. investment, Shale Crescent President Nathan Lord said.
They have traveled to Germany, Japan, Turkey, India and elsewhere highlighting what is available locally in terms of natural gas and more that could be utilized in a number of industrial applications.
“Many of them just don’t know where we are,” said Greg Kozera, marketing director for Shale Crescent USA. “They know where New York City is, they know where Texas is with all its oil and gas.
“What really surprises people when we tell them is this region is the birthplace of America’s oil and gas industry, which birthed the petrochemical industry, which birthed the steel industry, the rubber industry, the glass industry and more,” he said. “We want to get that message out there that if you are going to make something and use energy, this is the place you want to be and this is where the energy is and where the experienced workforce is.”
Kozera said they were talking with a small French manufacturer who was looking to enter the American market and for an established American company to partner with, one where the owner might be looking to retire but wanted to keep the company operating and their people employed. They put them in contact with someone and get conversations started.
“We present ourselves as a world-class opportunity for international, energy-intensive manufacturers,” Lord said. “Manufacturers really want a lot of natural gas, and they want a lot of energy, because they use the natural gas differently than we do.
“We use it for heat, and they use it as feedstock to actually make stuff.”
Things from clothing to plastics and other products of modern life all have gas molecules in them.
“The reason we have a world-class opportunity is we have a world-class supply of natural gas,” Lord said. “What that translates to (is) an abundance of natural gas and low-cost energy, which translates to more profitability to these manufacturers.
“The opportunity is here,” he said. “The fun is being able to discuss the small-town opportunity that they have here.”
Some companies are looking to locate in a more metropolitan area like where they have been, while others are receptive when Shale Crescent USA talks about the small town environments in this region.
“Some of them like the idea of being in smaller communities,” Lord said. “One of the benefits of being in a small community, you are celebrated. People want you there, especially when you come from a manufacturing area like we are.
“There is a lot of legacy manufacturing here, and there are generations of people here who have been involved in manufacturing here. The opportunity is to attract jobs here, which we say the people of the Mid-Ohio Valley want those jobs here.”
Lord has said job creators are given opportunities to be involved in the community, with their employees on chamber of commerce boards, participating in volunteer organizations and sponsoring youth sports teams.
“That begins to paint a picture of what life would be like for them here,” Lord said. “They want to work and see their business thrive, but they have to live their lives too.”
Kozera talked about being in a river community and how in some parts of the world local riverways are very polluted. There are parts of the world where no one would have a restaurant along a river.
“We have trees around us, and it is green,” he said. “The rivers are quiet and peaceful.
“They want that.”
They have talked with representatives of companies around the world who live in major cities, and some of them are looking for a small town life.
Kozera said one individual described it as “wanting to be the big fish in a small pond.” The individual is looking at establishing something that would bring in 70-80 jobs.
“It is not huge and would not be a big deal in Columbus,” he said. “In Parkersburg, it would be a very big deal as these would be good-paying jobs.”
Part of Shale Crescent USA’s mission is “to let the world know this place exists,” Kozera said, adding their message for the last eight years or so has been to create awareness of this region.
“If we were a country, we would be the third-largest natural gas-producing country in the world,” Kozera said he has told international companies.
The people he talks to are always surprised by that revelation as the area has been able to tap into the natural gas here through better technologies that have been developed to extract the gas in the ground.
“That is the key,” Kozera said.
He said he is regularly told by international companies they thought all the gas was in Texas.
“We have told them that if they are in manufacturing and you use energy, this is the one place you can be on top of your energy and your feedstock and still be in the middle of your customers,” Kozera said. “We have that advantage and that is what we need to be promoting as a region and as individual states.”
Local industry experts had research done comparing this area with other oil and gas producers around the country with marketing materials put together that groups like Shale Crescent USA have been able to show to potential interested corporations.
“It is showing that we can do manufacturing here more (profitably) than anywhere else in the world,” Lord said. “We are starting to see the fruit of that now.
“This is an opportunity for the Mid-Ohio Valley and the region to be able to benefit from all the natural gas and infrastructure we have, all the rivers we have and the workforce that has historically been there.”

As the rest of the country and the world looks at development of natural gas resources, representatives of Shale Crescent USA have traveled around the world explaining why businesses would want to locate along the Ohio River Valley. Shale Crescent USA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to....