HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 85

By Delegates Howell, Capito, Criss, Espinosa, E. Evans, Fast, Gearheart, Hamrick, Hill, Martin, Moore, Pack, Rowan, Statler, Storch and Westfall

[Introduced February 26, 2018; Referred to the Committee on Roads and Transportation then Rules]

Requesting the legislatures and departments of transportation of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia to endorse and pursue the construction of a new four-lane, limited access highway, extending Interstate Highway 99 from its present terminus at Bedford, Pennsylvania, to Covington, Virginia.

Whereas, Communities located along the route of United States Highway Route 220 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, have enjoyed the benefit of access to a federal highway, but have become underserved as higher-quality, dedicated transportation corridors have developed in other areas; and

Whereas, U.S. Highway 220 does not meet the engineering and access standards of an interstate highway and, due to its outdated standards, it has become an impediment to growth and development along its path; and

Whereas, Modern, limited-access highways with east-west routings are now reaching this region, there is no comparable north-south route available to the people of these areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia; and

Whereas, The nearest north-south interstate highway, Interstate 81, is overcrowded and suffers from dangerous traffic loads and frequent traffic back-ups; and

Whereas, Interstate 81 has been the subject of multiple proposals and research to alleviate this traffic load, including proposals to build extra lanes or separate, dedicated routes for truck traffic; and

Whereas, Construction of modifications to Interstate 81 would involve significant expense with relatively little additional benefit to the areas through which it passes; and

Whereas, The construction of a north-south oriented interstate highway along the general path of the current U.S. Highway 220 would both alleviate the traffic load on Interstate 81 and provide a path for the development of potentially productive regions in the states concerned; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the legislatures and departments of transportation of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are hereby requested to endorse and pursue the construction of a new four-lane, limited access highway, extending Interstate Highway 99 from its present terminus at Bedford, Pennsylvania, to Covington, Virginia.

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Highways, to the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation.