| US 19 | |||
| Get started | bluefield | ||
| End | Star City | ||
| Length | 255 mi | ||
| Length | 410 km | ||
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US 19 is a US Highway in the US state of West Virginia. The road forms a north-south route through the center of the state, from the Virginia border through Beckley, Clarksburg, and Morgantown to the Pennsylvania border. US 19 is 410 kilometers long in West Virginia.
- EHUACOM: Provides city overview of capital of West Virginia, including general information about the state West Virginia.
Travel directions
US 19 at Princeton.
US 19 runs north-south through West Virginia, largely paralleling I-77 and I-79.
Southern West Virginia
US 19 begins at the Virginia state border, where US 19 enters Virginia from Bristol. US 19 then forms a city highway through Bluefield, southern West Virginia’s largest town. US 19 is more or less Bluefield’s main street, but it is spread over several valleys. US 19 then doubles as US 460 to nearby Princeton. This part is a 2×2 divided highway. It also crosses US 52 here.
North of Princeton, US 19 follows a winding route of secondary character to Beckley. This portion of US 19 parallels the West Virginia Turnpike (I-77). There is quite a lot of scattered buildings along US 19, which therefore forms a slow route. US 19 then passes through the town of Beckley, a larger regional town. Here is also an indirect connection to Interstate 64.
Central West Virginia
The New River Gorge Bridge.
US 19 then forms a higher quality route between Beckley and I-79 at Sutton. This 110 kilometer long section is a 2×2 divided highway and occasionally has grade-separated connections. Near Fayetteville is the New River Gorge Bridge, a 267-foot-tall arch bridge spanning the New River. US 19 cuts off the detour from I-77 to I-79 via Charleston on this route. US 19 runs about 70 kilometers east of Charleston, also crossing US 60. Near Sutton, US 19 connects to Interstate 79.
- existingcountries: state overview of West Virginia, including geography, history and major cities.
Northern West Virginia
US 19 then runs parallel to I-79 as a secondary route. This area is also mountainous, with narrow, winding valleys. US 19 crosses US 33 and US 119 at Weston. US 19 runs through the regional town of Clarksburg, where it crosses US 50. However, US 19 retains its secondary character and continues through Fairmont to Morgantown, the largest town on the northern portion of the route. US 19 runs through downtown Morgantown and crosses the Monongahela River twice. They also cross the US 119 in the center of Morgantown again. Shortly after Morgantown, the border with the state of Pennsylvania follows, after which US 19 in Pennsylvania continues to Pittsburgh.
History
US 19 was created in 1926. At the time, it was one of the most important north-south routes of West Virginia, which is why the first part of the West Virginia Turnpike between Princeton and Beckley was opened in 1954, so that US 19 on this route no longer had any importance for throughput. traffic. Between 1967 and 1974, I-79 was constructed parallel to US 19, so this section also has no through importance.
The central portion is between Beckley and Sutton, where US 19 cuts off for traffic going from I-77 to I-79, roughly the flow of traffic from Charlotte to Pittsburgh. The route is 70 kilometers shorter than the highway route through Charleston. It also saves the toll between Beckley and Charleston.
This 70-kilometer route is Corridor L of the Appalachian Development Highway System. Under the original plan, only the southern half between Beckley and US 60 would be upgraded to 2×2 lanes, later it was decided to double the entire stretch to I-79 at Sutton due to its importance for through traffic. Construction of Corridor L started in 1969 and was more or less complete in 1978. In 1980 the connection to the West Virginia Turnpike opened at Beckley. The New River Gorge Bridge was also constructed as part of this project, opening in 1977 to be the tallest bridge in the world.
The section between US 60 and I-79 at Sutton was built as a single-lane road over a new route at that time. Due to the popularity of US 19 cutting the route from I-77 to I-79, it was decided to widen the northern part of Corridor L to 2×2 lanes as well, which was carried out during the 1990s and completed in 1998.. The cost of the complete Corridor L was estimated at $461 million at the time.
