For three weeks, the Parsons Advocate prepared the public for an "informational public meeting on Corridor H" on September 26 at the Davis town hall. Although the notice gave no details, there was a lot to talk about: surveys for endangered species, a report from the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, elimination of most alignment options west of Parsons, and possible changes near Greenland Gap.

However, the meeting was more informal than informational. Davis Town Council and the Tucker County Commission had been asking for updates for months. The West Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT) had scheduled a field review nearby on the 26th. The county commission was occupied but the council was not, so the highway engineers drew straws and the loser dropped in after work.

Jason Foster, a young project manager, said the Federal Highway Administration had approved the corridor section that would begin just east of Davis, pass the Mt. Storm power plant, and terminate on top of the Allegheny Front near Bismarck. Right of way purchase or condemnation could begin next year, but there were no funds for final design or construction before 2004. That was what he knew. The meeting began at 5:59 and ended around 6:07.

Council members and the dozen or so in the audience had not expected more. One man recalled that Corridor H had been "on the books" since 1965 but it took thirty years to open the section from Buckhannon to Elkins. At that rate, the part in Tucker County wouldn't be finished before 2020 or 2030. Foster said he couldn’t disagree, it all depended on funding. The audience shook their heads. They were people who tended to be cynical about government, taxes, and everyone else’s motives, but they had a sentimental belief in the promise of "our road." They were like hard candy with soft centers.

Typically, the "environmentalists," people who’d be happy not to see the road for twenty or a hundred years, showed up a few minutes late. They walked across the street to Sirianni's Pizzas to exchange some hard news.

(1) Squirrel Avoidance Alternatives:

The Corridor H Citizens Advisory Group for the Blackwater area studies -- a group established by the court-approved settlement agreement -- had met earlier in September to hear results of a recent survey for the endangered West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel. The news was they had found some. In fact, they had found more of the squirrels in the path of Corridor H than in any other area in the state. DOT’s consultant quickly generated a map with bold brown and purple lines circling to the west of Tucker County High School and descending Backbone Mountain below US 219. The lines were labeled "SAA 1" and "SAA 2," the Squirrel Avoidance Alternatives. According to the consultant, studying the new sub-alignments and negotiating with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on impacts to the endangered species will further delay the draft environmental impact statement by six to nine months.

(2) Blackwater Industrial Complex:

In August, the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places reaffirmed that the BIC was eligible for the register on all four criteria: (a) significance to the economic and social development of the state and nation; (b) association with an important historical figure, i.e., Henry G. Davis; (c) embodiment of distinctive architecture and construction of a definable period; and (d) presence of important, intact archaeological remains. The Keeper agreed with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) that mining reclamation in the Coketon area had not destroyed the district’s integrity. Thus, the Blackwater River corridor from Thomas to Hendricks retained its status as "4(f)" property that may not be impacted by federally-funded projects such as Corridor H.

DOT and its consultant had put on a full-court press against the Keeper, the SHPO, and the Forest Service, hoping to find a hole in the historic district through which to run a highway. Monongahela National Forest was the owner of most of the property. Its staff archaeologist, Ruth Brinker, had retired after doing much of the research that justified the Keeper’s recognition of the complex. Her successor, John Calabrese, resisted pressure to retreat and found support among his superiors on the Mon.

(3) Battlefield Avoidance Alternatives:

West of Parsons, where DOT is looking for a new route to avoid the Corricks Ford Battlefield and Shavers Fork River, the number of "alignments carried forward" has been reduced from six or seven to two, according to a separate submission to the SHPO. The two, labeled "C" and "DF" on the scorecards, cut across the National Forest’s Laurel Run area, a prime wildlife habitat. At the Community Advisory Group meeting in Davis, DOT’s consultant said the draft Environmental Impact Statement on this section was nearly complete.

(4) Greenland Gap:

After a visit to Greenland Gap, Secretary of Transportation Fred VanKirk announced that DOT would make some design changes to minimize the corridor’s impact. They included elimination of an exit at the mouth of the Gap, moderate sound walls, quieter pavement, and more attention to landscaping. Now DOT may go further. Consultants on preliminary engineering will be asked to look for a way to "push the alignment away from the Gap," according to Dave Clevenger of DOT’s roadway design office.

On September 29, The Nature Conservancy, which owns a preserve at the heart of the Gap, recognized Debbie Kunkel for her tireless efforts to protect it.

(5) No Continental One:

Also in September, Secretary VanKirk announced that West Virginia would not go along with a proposal to make US 219 a four-lane international trade corridor from Canada to Miami. Part of "Continental One" would have overlapped Corridor H. The reasons for rejecting C-1 are the same as the reasons not to build C-H. Neither could pass a cost-benefit test. The existing highway from Davis to Bismarck, where a 16.5-mile section of C-H was just given the green light, had an average daily traffic (ADT) of 1600 vehicles ten years ago and projected daily traffic of 2600 ten years from now. Guidelines of the national association of state transportation officials require ADT to exceed 10,000 before a four-lane should be considered. But C-H had one supporter who was worth more than 10,000 cars. You could call him the Candy Man.