Region VII Planning & Development Council

A lot going on...

On November 14th, the Corridor H Authority will update the West Virginia Legislative Joint Interim Committee on Infrastructure about the progress of Corridor H and the long term impact that the highway will have on the economy in North Central West Virginia, the Potomac Highlands and the Eastern Panhandle. Also on that day, we will be a displaying vendor at the West Virginians for Better Transportation Conference in Charleston. 

You may have, or will soon, notice a number of billboards going up around the greater Corridor H area. These billboards will be used to drive traffic to the organization's website where further information about Corridor H can be found.

Businesses from Weston to Moorefield are providing brochure displays at counters where the public can take a pamphlet on Corridor H to learn more about the path of the highway, its economic impact and the efforts of many organizations to further its construction.

Our Facebook page has reached 1,500 fans in the last month! http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=ykyvy5eab&et=1108538033772&s=736&e=001DDCrUyuYIFQvzYB69Pr-6yz5fjRe7O7gpCsixXdqMqQyaUyI4Z6bJuRuuSymFpRTv-gN7fOrVXNMoA0vZYck3Z-Phzcrf1CHtuQ0sTwgcnmm5pDUK2hASw1rR2Qp2Q_icgWhEONM1b4ZUll9HWOL-mIiHrs_B35aiCFBRtTHerUaxQlCejauWg==

Ads placed on Metronews, the Charleston Gazette, the Daily Mail, the Elkins Intermountain, the Northern Virginia Daily Times, the Moorefield Examiner, Winchester Channel 3, Google, Facebook, others have driven thousands of new visitors to the website over the last 30 days. www.corridorh2020.com.

A video telling the story of Corridor H is about to wrap up principal production. We will be passing a link to it along once it is complete.

We continue to have success with newspapers in the state writing positive editorials, placing op-eds and letters to the editor and covering events. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, we ask that you send a copy to us (info@corridorh2020.com) so we can keep track of which papers are being touched and which we still need more effort to have a presence within.

News from Virginia: The City of Strasburg has begun land use planning around the eventual completion of Corridor H within Virginia. We believe that completion of the Corridor within West Virginia (where we have 90% of the highway) is essential to remaining 10% of the road in the Old Dominion. Many supporters from Virginia continue to join us on Facebook and ask for materials.

On a previous trip to Washington DC, we learned that there is over $2 Billion in funds currently unspent on ADHS roads like Corridor H - which by law can only be spent within this particular road system. We informed our congressional delegation of this issue, and a bill has been drafted by Senators Rockefeller (D-WV), Manchin (D-WV) and Selby (R-AL) that would force states that refuse to spend their funds within five years to loan their monies to other states that have roads under construction. Those loans would be repaid through annually allocated ADHS funds. This action would allow roads that are ready for construction to be built and provide funding to those states who are not ready to build theirs when they are ready later.

Various organizations have been scheduling speakers from the Corridor H Authority to come speak at meetings including Rotaries and Chambers of Commerce, etc. If you organization would like to be updated on Corridor H, please send an email to info@corridorh2020.com and we will schedule a speaker for your event.

Thanks to all who are so supportive of this economic development project. Corridor H truly is a Corridor of Commerce.

Steve Foster
Robert C. Byrd Corridor H Highway Authority