Interstate
68: This stretch of road spans 112 miles from Morgantown, WV through
Western Maryland to Hancock, MD. West Virginia is home to 31 miles of
I-68. Interstate 68 climbs the backbone of the Appalachian Mountains
across the Eastern Continental Divide and cuts right through Sideling
Hill. The highway is unique in that it does not connect any large
metropolitan areas; rather, it carries its travelers nearly parallel to
its predecessor the National Road, America's first federally funded
highway.
Approved and funded in October 1989, it was completely opened in 1992.
I-68 replaced U.S. 48 along the National Freeway in northeast West
Virginia and the panhandle of Maryland connecting Interstate 79 and
Interstate 70. Designated as Appalachian Corridor E, Interstate 68
within the Mountaineer State was initially constructed between 1970 and
1976 at a cost of $113 million.
The rest of the road was upgraded to Interstate standards by 1992. The
route provides an alternative to Interstate 70 for traffic headed
between Baltimore and Washington to West Virginia, Ohio, and points
westward.
According to the West Virginia Route 2 /
Interstate 68 Authority, future plans call for Interstate 68 to be routed
northwest from its current termination at Morgantown and rejoin Interstate 70
near Wheeling at Moundsville, WV using West Virginia 7 and U.S. 250. In
September 2000, the authority presented 26 alternative routes for Interstate 68,
but no final routing was arrived at. West Virginia Route 2 is also planned for
upgrades, possibly to Interstate standards. The West Virginia 2/Interstate 68
Authority was created by the West Virginia State Legislature in 1997, and it has
two specific mandates: widen West Virginia Route 2 from Parkersburg to Chester,
and extend Interstate 68 westward to the Ohio River.
In September of 2003, then West Virginia Governor Bob Wise announced that the
Federal Highway Administration had approved the Interstate 68 extension for
inclusion into the National Highway System. Original specifications that date
back to 1986, call for a 73-mile route between Morgantown to Moundsville. Recent
estimates see the price tag at around $1 billion. The I-68 Boosters, joining the
1997-created West Virginia 2/Interstate 68 Authority, have obtained over 20,000
signatures on a petition stating support for the highway. A recent proposal, now
gaining popularity, is for creation of Interstate 268 as the designation for a
planned northeast bypass of Morgantown, West Virginia, connecting to I-79 in
Pennsylvania. There are proponents petitioning to extend I-68 to Moundsville,
West Virginia, with an Ohio River bridge crossing there. Such a development
would make accurate a road sign in western Maryland along I-70 (westbound) that
states: "Interstate 68 - To Ohio and all points west." As of now, I-68 does not
go to Ohio.
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