Shawnee Expressway (West Virginia)

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West Virginia Route 78
Shawnee Expressway
Length:	23 mi[1] (37 km)
Counties:	Mercer, McDowell
Major cities:	Ghent, Ashland
West Virginia Routes < I-77 I-79 > Primary - Secondary

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

The Shawnee Expressway (West Virginia Route 78^[2]) is a proposed 23 mile (37 kilometer) two-lane rural principal arterial highway. The highway, should it be constructed, will run through McDowell, Wyoming, Mercer, and Raleigh counties in southwest West Virginia. The proposed termini of the expressway will be at the Ghent interchange along Interstate 77 to CR 14 or CR 17 near Ashland ^[1].

The Shawnee Expressway was identified as a High Priority Corridor in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). The study area ^[3], consisting of CR 11 and CR 14 in Mercer County, and CR 16/6 and CR 16/2 in Wyoming County, feature extensive no-passing zones, narrow roadway widths, non-existent shoulders, sharp horizontal curves, steep vertical grades, and substandard pavement materials for a heavy traffic load^[1]. As a result, the level of service along the routes within the study area range from B to E.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Shawnee Expressway." West Virginia. Department of Transportation. Executive Summary. N.p.: West Virginia Department of Transportation, n.d.
2. ^ WVDOT, Approval Sought for Numbering for New Highways, June 1998
3. ^ Study Area and Study Route. Map. N.p.: West Virginia Department of Transportation , n.d.