West Virginia is blessed with a scenic beauty unparalleled in most states. Our hills and valleys are a pleasure to gaze upon. But, they also create a natural barrier for those wishing to pass through. But, this is not a barrier that cannot be overcome.
We are a mobile society that has within its means to do great things when it comes to engineering and construction. We bridged the New River Gorge, and we crossed mountains at all points of the compass. And, we need to cross these mountains again, this time from north-central West Virginia to the Ohio Valley region and possibly beyond.
Interstate 68 was “completed” nearly 25 years ago. When the project began in 1965, the road was designed to promote economic growth in Allegheny, Garrett and Washington counties in Maryland, and Monongalia and Preston counties in West Virginia.
And, although that leg of the highway has been completed for over two decades, providing an avenue for safe travel from western Maryland to north-central West Virginia, it needs to be revisited and extended to West Virginia’s western border in order to fully realize its potential and benefit the Mountain State.
I-68 was built as an economic tool. Extending this four-lane roadway is vital in ensuring the success of this road as a tool for development. It will open up the northwestern quadrant of West Virginia, making it accessible to industry, manufacturing and tourism. And, it will make travel in the area safer.
One of the most important reasons this expansion needs to be undertaken, and why it should be undertaken now, is because it will help promote and advance the development of the state’s oil and natural gas industry. We cannot afford to wait until after industry and opportunity have left to make a change.
The natural gas industry is booming and there are plans for projects that would benefit our economy and our residents for generations to come. There are plans for natural gas-fired power plants in the region. The need for a natural gas storage hub is brought up daily. There’s a lot of potential beneath our feet, and we need to expand our infrastructure in order to grasp it.
In 2012, Shell agreed to purchase property near Pittsburgh for a nearly completed $6 billion ethane cracker plant within miles of Hancock County, along the Ohio River.
Ohio also, since 2015, has been working toward the proposed PTT Global Chemical/Daelim ethane cracker plant partnership. This projected $8 billion to $10 billion plant site is in Dilles Bottom, in Belmont County, which is just across the Ohio River from Moundsville.
There is a common theme to both of these projects that West Virginia missed out on: A major four-lane highway that allows easy access to the site.
Another example of development outside of the natural gas industry is Procter & Gamble’s new manufacturing plant being built in Berkeley County. This plant has about 2 million square feet under roof. This $500 million facility is located close to I-81, giving Procter & Gamble access to 80 percent of its customer base within a day.
Extending I-68 across West Virginia and potentially into Ohio will give companies easier access eastward to not only their customers and the nation’s population centers on the Eastern Seaboard, but Baltimore Harbor, which can deliver to its customers globally.
It will make western Monongalia, Marion, Wetzel, Marshall and other counties along the Ohio River much more desirable when companies are looking for places to open up shop. It will give Preston and eastern Monongalia counties a greater advantage for drawing manufacturing. The completion of this road could be used as a bargaining chip when state leaders and economic development directors court companies, trying to entice them to locate to West Virginia.
There are a number of reasons that extending I-68 needs to be a priority for our state. Industry, development and opportunity are just a few, but they are core to our success and future opportunities. We must focus on those projects that will have a return on the now and the future so that we do not remain in the past. The I-68 extension road project will invest in West Virginia, the I-68 and Ohio Valley region, and our people. It must be a priority.
Bob Miller Jr. is the executive director of the WV Route 2/I-68 Authority, former Marshall County commissioner and long-time small business owner. He lives in Wheeling.
