Published: November 06, 2009 03:58 pm      

Dangerous road underscores vital need for modern four-lane highway

It’s official, we have a bridge to nowhere — at least for a little while. It is our hope that this bridge, whose brand-new concrete almost sparkles high above Route 19 in Bluefield, will soon connect to Airport Road, and beyond.

To be technical, it’s not just one bridge, but two. Twins that reside 160 feet above the road. Residents of the city, and others across the region, have watched as the bridges — part of the developing King Coal Highway — have slowly taken shape during the past three years. “This is just the next step on traveling toward Bluewell, Montcalm, Matoaka and McDowell County,” King Coal Highway Executive Director Mike Mitchem, told the Daily Telegraph last week. “We are very pleased that this bridge has been finished.”

Like Mitchem, we, too, are thrilled that construction continues on this vital infrastructure project. Anyone who has traveled Route 52 during the winter — or summer, for that matter — realizes the importance of building this modern highway.

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Route 52 serves an important link in southern West Virginia. If a traveler wants to drive from Bluefield to Welch, or any of the points in between — Brushfork, Bluewell, Northfork, Kimball, Keystone and more — this is the road to take.

Unfortunately, it’s also a dinosaur. This is not said as an insult to the West Virginia Department of Highways or anyone else. When constructed decades ago, Route 52 served its purpose. But the two-lane road was not built with the 21st century in mind.

It is curvy, steep, narrow and, at times, downright treacherous. Some call it the highway that time forgot — and it’s an accurate description.

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Traveling Route 52 during winter months is an exercise in hazardous training. Drivers who don’t own a four-wheel drive should give it up during bad snowstorms. Two-wheel drive vehicles simply aren’t equipped for the trek.

For those traveling out of Bluefield, the first peril one must traverse is Bluefield State mountain. Often, tracter-trailers and other vehicles will slide sideways or into the ditch while trying to make it up this incline. Other motorists who want to make it home — instead of being stuck in traffic delays for hours — must find the courage to navigate the slippery roads around the stalled vehicles. Once past, drivers can breath a sigh of relief — for about five seconds. At that point one is at the top of the hill, and must make it down the dangerous slope on the other side without wiping out.

Usually it’s a slow haul, punctuated by sliding tires and gasps of anxiety.

Eventually, if lucky, one will make it to the Airport Road-Falls Mills Road-Burger King intersection. But it’s no time to slack. There are still many more mountains and valleys ahead.

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Having traveled Route 52 daily during my entire life, I have a love-hate relationship with the road. During autumn, spring and summer, I marvel at the picturesque vistas. When fall foliage is at its peak, I doubt there is any roadway in America with more scenic views.

But at the first of each month and holidays, when traffic congestion is at its peak, I loathe the road for its limited capabilities. Why, I wonder, when other regions have numerous highways traversing their counties and cities are we stuck with a two-lane fossil that can’t handle current traffic — much less any future increase?

This is one of the reasons why the King Coal Highway is so important to our area.

When completed in the future, the highway will travel 95 miles through Mingo, Wayne, Wyoming, McDowell and Mercer counties with the Tolsia segment from Williamson to Huntington extending another 55 miles. It will interchange with the Coalfields Expressway in Welch near the Indian Ridge Industrial Park and the site of the new federal prison.

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We don’t want a bridge to nowhere. Nor do we desire antiquated two-lane roads that funnel traffic through treacherous mountains and valleys. We want what most other regions already have — a safe, modern, four-lane highway system.

Such roads don’t come cheap. And we realize U.S. senators Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, along with Representative Nick Rahall, have a struggle ahead to keep funding in place for the King Coal Highway.

But we also know it’s a battle that’s well worth the fight. Residents of West Virginia’s deep south counties deserve modern roads.

We have a bridge in place to connect the highway to other vital infrastructure arteries — if and when the funding is approved. But we must make sure the federal dollars go where they are needed.

Now is the time to write or call federal representatives to let them know the vital need for transportation infrastructure in southern West Virginia. Quietly cursing Route 52 while stuck in a traffic jam is not enough.

Samantha Perry is managing editor of the Daily Telegraph. Contact her at sperry@bdtonline.com.