Cord Byrd: “With the passage of the Appalachian Regional Development Act by Congress in 1965, the Appalachian Development Highway…”

“With the passage of the Appalachian Regional Development Act by Congress in 1965, the Appalachian Development Highway System got its start by providing smaller regional centers in the Appalachian region with four-lane expressway links to the Interstate Highway System. The new corridors were devised to open areas with development potential where commerce and communication had previously been inhibited by a lack of access. On June 17, 1965--32 years ago, and then some--the first Appalachian corridor construction project in West Virginia was contracted for a section of corridor D, U.S. 50 in Doddridge County that is between Parkersburg, WV, and Clarksburg, WV. The Appalachian corridor highway construction era really picked up steam in West Virginia following the November 1968 approval by the voters of a $350 million road bond, the proceeds of which were used to provide the State's matching share for corridor construction. During these years, for the most part, funding has been directed toward all four uncompleted corridors, D, G, H and L.”