New River Parkway, West Virginia – A Scenic Roadway/Greenway Case Study
Abstract
In the mid-1980s the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (WVDOH), National Park Service, and New River Parkway Authority, proposed to create a twolane road and protected greenway corridor within the southern portion of the New River Gorge National River. Called the New River Parkway, this project was envisioned as a public-private partnership that would improve access to the New River and its recreational resources, conserve the area’s cultural, scenic, and ecological resources, and encourage compatible economic development within and near the project study area. The project study area extends from the intersection of Raleigh County Route 26 and West Virginia 20 near Hinton, West Virginia north to Interstate I-64 where I-64 crosses the New River near the Raleigh-Summers county line. The proposed parkway would parallel the New River for roughly ten miles within the boundary of the New River Gorge National River. As a result of Parkway implementation, it is hoped that Historic Hinton will be more readily accessible and thus see increased economic development. Although several draft New River Parkway Land Management System documents (LMS) were produced between 1994 and 2002, work on the LMS has continued during 2006. An enforceable land management plan is viewed by many local, state, and federal agencies as essential to the long-term success of the Parkway. Due to WVDOH highway planning priorities, various environmental concerns, and a measure of opposition to both physical Parkway construction and land management proposals, the environmental assessment process was not formally completed until February 2004, when the New River Parkway Record of Decision was signed and released. On July 1, 2004 final design for the first 3.5 mile section was initiated. This paper reviews lessons learned from the New River Parkway (West Virginia) greenway planning process. Technological applications associated with the New River Parkway environmental assessment and scenic roadway/greenway planning, are briefly discussed.
How to Cite:
Skabelund, L. R., (2007) “New River Parkway, West Virginia – A Scenic Roadway/Greenway Case Study”, Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning 2(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/fabos.2332