The Highland Scenic Highway was first proposed in the early 1960's as a 160 mile scenic road extending through the Monongahela National Forest from Richwood, West Virginia, northeasterly to U.S. 50 between Gormania and Mount Storm, West Virginia.
Although intended primarily to provide opportunities for recreation and viewing of outstanding scenery, the road was originally planned as a multiple purpose road. The first funds were provided by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962, with construction beginning in 1965 at WV Rt. 39 near the Cranberry Mountain Visitor Center, 23 miles east of Richwood. Slightly over 22 miles of two-lane paved highway have been constructed between WV Rt. 39 and U.S. 219, seven miles north of Marlinton, West Virginia.
The funding for the initial construction sections was provided by the allocations for Public Land Highways made available under several Federal-aid Highway Acts since 1962. As a Public Land Highway, the Highland Scenic Highway could not be limited to recreational use as had been done for parkways authorized by special Acts of Congress. The status of the highway was changed by passage of the 1973 Highways Act (P.L. 93–87) in 1973. Section 161 of this Act (See Appendix A) authorized the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, to develop and con- struct the highway as a parkway, limited to passenger cars only, from WV Rt. 39 to U.S. 250. The Act authorized acquisition and reclamation of lands and development of recreation facilities. The Act also provided that any proposed extension between U.S. 250 and Cunningham Knob shall follow existing routes. . The designation of the status of the Highland Scenic Highway as a parkway, limited to passenger cars, represented a significant departure from its original status. This change of status also represents a change in the funding source of subsequent sections of this highway. No funds were specifically allocated to the construction of the Highland Scenic Highway by Public Law 93-87, which indicated construction was not to be initiated until the Forest Service had acquired sufficient lands and interests in lands (including mineral rights) through the Shavers Fork Watershed to assure an adequate scenic corridor for the Highland Scenic Highway and the control of water quality in Shavers Fork.
Funding for the current study originated from the 1978 DOT Appropriations Act which provided for a study on the Highland Scenic Highway. This study was limited to the extension of this highway from U.S. Route 219 to U.S. Route 250 near Barton Knob, and included specific reference to the requirements within the Upper Shavers Fork area contained in Public Law 93-87.
It was also specifically indicated that the Highland Scenic Highway was to be designated as a Federal-aid secondary system route to allow highway trust funding to be used for this highway. The availability of funding, or more specifically, the Congressional allocation of funding, for the extension of the Highland Scenic Highway, as a consequence, remains a factor in the determination of the future course of the proposed project. I-1
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