CHARLESTON — A contract to build the final Corridor H bridge from Kerens to Parsons was among over 25 construction projects included in a bid letting conducted by the West Virginia Division of Highways this week.

The WVDOH conducted bid letting on Oct. 8 for 29 construction contracts, one of which was to build the final bridge on the approximately 13-mile section of Corridor H from Kerens to Parsons. 

The bridge will be 1,740 feet long, with both horizontal and vertical curves. According to WVDOH State Bridge Engineer Tracy Brown, P.E., the design is challenging.

“The structure is around a third of a mile long,” Brown said in a press release. “It is a huge milestone in the ultimate goal of completing Corridor H in that this is the last piece in the long-awaited Kerens to Parsons section.”

Brown added that the final contract involved “many late nights of work” and “after hour meetings” with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Monongahela National Forest, local leaders, design consultants and residents of the local communities.

“With this project now being underway, only two sections remain in achieving the ultimate goal of fully completing Corridor H,” Brown said.

In August, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt took a tour of the Kernes-Parsons section of Corridor H, both speaking highly of the work being done so far at the site.

“The construction that we see now, the bridges that are being built, is very exciting,” Capito said in August. “I wanted (Bhatt) to see it first-hand. To see how difficult it is to build in West Virginia, but also how important it is to this region for our state.”

Capito said she believed that the Kernes-Parsons portion of Corridor H was expected to be finished in the spring or fall of 2025 with the next portion up in Thomas yet to be determined.

“I jokingly said to somebody that I’m going to see Corridor H be completed in my lifetime and I’m planning to live to one hundred, but I’m hoping it doesn’t take that long, and I don’t think it will,” Capito said.

Other projects that were part of the bid letting included:

District 8 ADA ramps in Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph and Tucker counties.

WV 92 paving, Minnehaha Springs to Sunset Road in Pocahontas County.

US 250 paving, Little River Bridge to Thornwood in Pocahontas County.

WV 32 paving, Canaan Heights to Davis in Tucker County.

Roaring Run Bridge, Corridor H in Randolph County.

US 250 paving, Riffle Creek Road to Huttonsville in Randolph County.

US 219 paving, Scenic Highway to Lake Reed Road in Pocahontas County.

WVDOH Equipment Division lot lighting in Upshur County.

Traffic signal, US 250 and Bridge Street in Barbour County.