West Virginia Route 9

	West Virginia Route 9
Length:	74.0 mi (119.1 km)
West end:	MD 51 near Paw Paw
Major; junctions:	WV 29 near Pin Oak; US 522 in Berkeley Springs; I-81 near Martinsburg; US 11 near Martinsburg; WV 45 in Martinsburg; WV 480 in Kearneysville; US 340 at Charles Town
East end:	VA 9 near Keyes Gap
Counties:	Morgan, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson
	West Virginia Routes
< WV 8	WV 10 >
	State - County

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West Virginia Route 9 is a major east-west state highway located in the eastern extents of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The western terminus of the route is at the Maryland state line north of Paw Paw, where WV 9 becomes Maryland Route 51 upon crossing the Potomac River. The eastern terminus is at the Virginia state line at Keyes Gap near Mannings, West Virginia, where WV 9 continues onward as State Route 9.

With no east-west US Highway in the region, WV 9 acts as the major east-west transportation artery between Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties. WV 9 briefly enters Hampshire County where it intersects with West Virginia Route 29 near Pin Oak.

[edit] Construction

West Virginia Route 9 is currently undergoing a major upgrade. There are three distinct sections for which upgrades are planned - the Virginia line to Charles Town, Charles Town to Martinsburg, and Martinsburg to Berkeley Springs. Only the middle stretch has seen significant construction

U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd began securing funding for the projects in the early 1990s. Shortly thereafter, a short portion of the road along the southern edge of Martinsburg was upgraded to four lanes, from Queen Street to Kelly Island Road. In the mid-2000s, a short stretch was also four-laned from I-81 west to Harlan Springs Road

The next significant improvement did not take place until September 2007, when a four-mile (6 km) stretch of the upgraded road opened up from Charles Town, through Bardane to Leetown Road in Kearneysville.

In early 2008, the future west-bound lanes of traffic were opened to two-way traffic from Kelly Island Road to, and over, Opequon Creek. This is allowing for the former road surface to be pulled up and the future eastbound lanes to be built. It also allowed for the demolition of the old bridge over the Opequon, which had been the site of several fatal accidents. Work continues on the four-laning from Opequon Creek to Kearneysville, as well.

Preliminary engineering and design work has been done on the stretch from the Virginia line to Charles Town. The only noticeable construction on the leg is a pair of bridges which span US Route 340 south of Charles Town. Right now, these bridges do not connect to any existent roads. They will carry Route 9 away from its current path across the Shenandoah River and the Blue Ridge. It is not known when construction on the eastern segment may commence in earnest. In West Virginia, it is widely perceived that Virginia has no interest in four-laning Route 9 in Loudoun County.

The western leg of Route 9 from Martinsburg to Berkeley Springs has seen even less evidence of progress than the eastern leg.

There has been no discussion of expanding Route from Berkeley Springs to Paw Paw, as it is lightly traveled, across the winding Cacapon River valley.

In April 2009, a short 1.3 mile section of the new Route 9 was opened from the Eastern Regional Jail to the Opequon Creek bridge. Construction is still going on from that point to Charles Town. A 4 mile section of Route 9 from the Eastern Regional Jail to Short Road should be completed by the end of 2009. Construction from Short Road to Route 9's present start point at Leetown Road is under construction now and should be completed in August 2010.