U.S. Route 50 (US 50) in West Virginia runs from the border with Ohio to Virginia, passing briefly through Garrett County, Maryland, and following the Northwestern Turnpike. Prior to the U.S. Highway System it was West Virginia Route 1 and in the 1930s, the road was not finished in Maryland. Today the section of US 50 from Clarksburg to Parkersburg on the Ohio River is part of Corridor D of the Appalachian Development Highway System.
 U.S. Route 50 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia, in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by WVDOH | ||||
| Length | 196.20 mi[1] (315.75 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Western section | ||||
| West end |   US 50 / SR 32 in Belpre, OH | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| East end | US 50 near Brookside | |||
| Eastern section | ||||
| West end | US 50 in Gormania | |||
| Major intersections |  US 220 in New Creek | |||
| East end | US 50 towards Winchester, VA | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | West Virginia | |||
| Counties | Wood, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor, Preston; Grant, Mineral, Hampshire | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Between Parkersburg and Wolf Summit, Route 50 roughly parallels the North Bend Rail Trail and crosses the trail at three places.[2]
Route description
editWestern segment
editUS 50 crosses the Ohio River on a bridge, with Blennerhassett Island in the middle of the river. It continues as a freeway with two interchanges at Route 892, and runs concurrently with Route 68 starting at the second interchange up to where it exits and heads into downtown Parkersburg. US 50 stays on the southern shore of the Little Kanawha River, intersecting Route 14 and then after crossing the river, Route 47 and Route 618 before becoming a divided expressway at the I-77 interchange. US 50 then briefly turns south before heading east through the forest. South of Deerwalk, the route runs concurrently with Route 31 for a few miles. In Ellenboro, US 50 has an interchange with Route 16, providing access into the town; an intersection with Route 74 does the same for Pennsboro, and several miles later, Route 18 for West Union. Route 23 intersects the highway west of East Salem and Bristol.[3]
Upon entering Clarksburg, there is a diamond interchange with US 19 and Route 20 before US 50 passes through the town as a freeway, with several interchanges, including another with Route 20. After an interchange with I-79, US 50 becomes Main Street, passing through the city of Bridgeport and intersecting Route 131 and passing south of the North Central West Virginia Airport. The route intersects Route 279 and then runs concurrently with US 250 until just before US 50 enters Fetterman and then Grafton. US 50 intersects US 119 in the eastern part of the city before continuing east through Thornton and curving through the mountains to Evansville. Route 92 briefly runs concurrently with the highway, and Route 26 intersects the route near Fellowsville. After several miles through the forest, Route 72 briefly runs concurrently with the highway before US 50 continues east into Aurora and intersects Route 24. Then, US 50 crosses into Maryland.[3]
Eastern segment
edit
US 50 crosses back into West Virginia over the north bank of the Potomac River. After passing through Gormania, the highway continues through the forest, and runs concurrently with Route 42 from near Mount Storm to near Hartmansville. Near Claysville, the route intersects Route 93, and Route 972 intersect US 50 near New Creek. US 220 runs concurrently with US 50 through Ridgeville, Markwood, and Burlington. At Junction, US 220 splits off to the south, and Route 28 continues east with US 50 through Mechanicsburg and through the river plain. In the town of Romney, US 50 goes through downtown, while Route 28 continues north. The highway goes through Shanks and Frenchburg, as well as Augusta; Route 29 runs concurrently through Pleasantdale. US 50 continues east through Hanging Rock and Loom, crossing the Cacapon River in Capon Bridge. US 50 then continues into Virginia.[4]
Water crossings
edit- Mill Branch east of Capon Bridge, West Virginia
- Cacapon River via Capon Bridge at Capon Bridge, West Virginia
- North River via Hanging Rock Bridge at Hanging Rock
- Tearcoat Creek via Pleasant Dale Bridge at Pleasant Dale
- North and South Forks of the Little Cacapon River at Frenchburg, West Virginia
- South Branch Potomac River via Romney Bridge at Romney
- Patterson Creek via Patterson Creek Bridge at Burlington
- New Creek via New Creek Bridge at New Creek
- North Branch Potomac River via Gormania Bridge at the state line with Maryland
- Tygart Valley River via US 50 Bridge at Grafton
- West Fork River via US 50 Bridge at Clarksburg
- Ohio River via Blennerhassett Island Bridge at Parkersburg
Historic sites
edit
Mineral County
edit- Weaver's Antique Service Station
- Claysville Church
- Patterson Creek Manor
- Saddle Mountain
- Travelers Rest
Hampshire County
edit- Hook's Tavern, 1790
- Capon Bridge
- Frye's Inn, c. 1800
- Amos Pugh House
- Cooper Mountain Overlook
- Hanging Rock
- Straw's Country Store Museum
- Historic Downtown Romney
- Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches
- The Burg, built c. 1769
- Sloan–Parker House (Stone House), built 1790
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | |    US 50 west to SR 7 / SR 32 – Athens, Belpre | Ohio state line (Blennerhassett Island Bridge over Ohio River) | ||
| |  WV 892 (Dupont Road) – Washington | interchange | |||
| |  CR 34/4 (River Hill Road) | interchange | |||
| |   WV 68 south – Ravenswood | interchange; west end of WV 68 overlap | |||
| Marrtown |  CR 9 (Marrtown Road) | interchange | |||
| |  WV 68 north (Juliana Street) – Downtown Parkersburg | interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of WV 68 overlap | |||
| Parkersburg |  WV 14 (Division Street) – Downtown Parkersburg | interchange | |||
| |  WV 47 (Staunton Avenue) | interchange | |||
| |  WV 618 (7th Street) | interchange | |||
| |   I-77 / WV 2 – Marietta, OH, Charleston | I-77 exit 176 | |||
| Deerwalk |   WV 31 north / CR 50/16 (Riser Ridge Road) – Deerwalk | west end of WV 31 overlap | |||
| Ritchie | | WV 31 south – Cairo | east end of WV 31 overlap | ||
| Ellenboro |  WV 16 – Ellenboro, Harrisville | interchange | |||
| Pennsboro |  WV 74 – Pennsboro, Pullman | ||||
| Doddridge | |  WV 18 – West Union, Glenville | |||
| Harrison | |  WV 23 – Alma, Salem, Fort New Salem, Salem International University | |||
| East Salem | Downtown Salem (CR 50/73) | interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| Clarksburg |   US 19 / WV 20 (West Pike Street) | interchange | |||
| West Virginia Avenue / Sycamore Street | interchange | ||||
| Chestnut Street | interchange | ||||
| 3rd Street / 2nd Street - Downtown Clarksburg | interchange | ||||
| WV 20 (Joyce Street) | interchange | ||||
 I-79 – Fairmont, Charleston | I-79 exit 119 | ||||
| Bridgeport |   WV 58 west (Virginia Avenue) to I-79 | ||||
  WV 131 north (Benedum Drive) – Airport | |||||
  WV 76 east – Flemington | |||||
 WV 279 west to I-79 | |||||
| Taylor | |  US 250 north – Fairmont | west end of US 250 overlap | ||
| Pruntytown | US 250 south – Elkins | east end of US 250 overlap | |||
| Grafton |  WV 310 north – Valley Falls State Park | ||||
 US 119 | |||||
| Preston | |  WV 92 north – Arthurdale, Reedsville | west end of WV 92 overlap | ||
| | WV 92 south – Nestorville, Belington | east end of WV 92 overlap | |||
| Fellowsville |  WV 26 north – Kingwood | ||||
| Macomber |  WV 72 south – Parsons | west end of WV 72 overlap | |||
| WV 72 north – Rowlesburg | east end of WV 72 overlap | ||||
| Brookside |  WV 24 south – Thomas | ||||
| | US 50 east (George Washington Highway) | ||||
| US 50 passes through Maryland | |||||
| Garrett | Gorman | US 50 west (George Washington Highway) | |||
| North Branch Potomac River | Gormania Bridge | ||||
| Grant | Gormania |  WV 90 south – Thomas | |||
| Mount Storm |  WV 42 south – Petersburg | west end of WV 42 overlap | |||
| Mineral | | WV 42 north – Elk Garden, Jennings Randolph Lake | east end of WV 42 overlap | ||
| Claysville |  WV 93 west – Scherr | west end of WV 93 overlap | |||
| New Creek | WV 93 east to US 220 north – Keyser | east end of WV 93 overlap | |||
| | US 220 north – Keyser | west end of US 220 overlap | |||
| Hampshire | Junction |  US 220 south / WV 28 south – Moorefield | east end of US 220 overlap; west end of WV 28 overlap | ||
| Romney | WV 28 north | east end of WV 28 overlap | |||
| |  WV 29 north – Paw Paw | west end of WV 29 overlap | |||
| | WV 29 south – Baker | east end of WV 29 overlap | |||
| | US 50 east – Winchester | Virginia state line | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
References
edit- ^ Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Planning Network GIS data version 2005.08
- ^ West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 1997. ISBN 0-89933-246-3. OCLC 36832284.
- ^ a b "US 50 West Virginia, western part" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ "US 50 West Virginia eastern portion" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
External links
edit
Media related to U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia at Wikimedia Commons
