 U.S. Route 119 | ||||||||||
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 US 119 highlighted in red | ||||||||||
| Route information | ||||||||||
| Auxiliary route ofUS 19 | ||||||||||
| Length | 585 mi[citation needed] (941 km) | |||||||||
| Existed | November 11, 1926–present | |||||||||
| Major junctions | ||||||||||
| South end |  US 25E inPineville, KY | |||||||||
| Major intersections | ||||||||||
| North end |  US 219 inSandy Township, PA | |||||||||
| Location | ||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||
| States | Kentucky,West Virginia,Pennsylvania | |||||||||
| Highway system | ||||||||||
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U.S. Route 119 (US 119) is a spur ofUS 19. It is a north–south route (on a northeast–southwest alignment) that was an originalUnited States highway of 1926. It isCorridor G of theAppalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) east ofUS 23 andKY 80 inKentucky toInterstate 64 atCharleston, West Virginia. It is the longest road in West Virginia.
In Kentucky, US 119 is a two- and four-lane highway running fromPineville atU.S. Route 25E to the West Virginia state line atSouth Williamson. It follows the Cumberland River pastHarlan to near the source of the river's Poor Fork, crosses Pine Mountain south ofWhitesburg, then follows a meandering course along the mountain toJenkins, where it joins US 23 and turns north toPikeville. Just north of Pikeville it turns east to South Williamson, where it crosses the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River intoWilliamson, West Virginia.
_at_West_Virginia_State_Route_36_(Clay_Road)_just_south_of_Spencer_in_Roane_County%2c_West_Virginia.jpg)
From Pikeville toUS 23 (Country Music Highway) atJenkins, it is part of ADHSCorridor F. In its concurrency from Jenkins north toPikeville, where it heads east toward West Virginia, it is part ofCorridor B. From US 23/KY 80 at Pikeville eastward towards the state line, it is part ofCorridor G.
U.S. Route 119 enters West Virginia from Kentucky as unsigned ADHS Corridor G, a four-lane limited-access highway stretching fromWilliamson toCharleston. The earliest segment of Corridor G to open was in 1972 and was finished in 1997. Formerly, US 119 was a typical two-lane mountain highway. Old US 119 now comprises all or parts ofUS 52,WV 44,WV 10,WV 17,WV 85,WV 3,WV 94 andWV 61.
The US route becomes a mostly two-lane highway north of Charleston, having functionally been replaced byInterstate 79. Compared to its replacement, US 119 takes a rather winding course. A trip from theCharleston area to theMorgantown area (I-79/US 119 Exit #1 to I-68 Exit #1) is 147 miles (237 km) via I-79 and 182 miles (293 km) via US 119. The travel time is about double taking US 119, over 4 hours instead of about 2 hours.
From Charleston, US 119 heads roughly east along theElk River toClendenin, where it turns north for 29 miles (47 km) toSpencer. At Spencer, it begins to head east withUS 33 for 81.4 miles (131.0 km). Along the way, it passes throughGlenville andWeston, where it intersects parent routeUS 19 and replacementI-79. From I-79 toWV 20 atBuckhannon, US 33/US 119 followCorridor H.
AtBuckhannon, US 119 again turns north — first withWV 20 then by itself as it travels toPhilippi. At Philippi it joins withUS 250 for 12 miles (19 km). From there, US 119 heads on its own throughGrafton and towardsMorgantown.
Just south ofMorgantown, US 119 intersectsInterstate 68's Exit #1, immediately east of its end atI-79. US 119 then enters downtown Morgantown, again meeting withUS 19. It leaves town via the narrow and winding North Willey Street and congested Mileground.
I-68 Exit #7, which effectively allows through traffic to bypass Morgantown. US 119 finally turns north to enterPennsylvania nearPoint Marion. TheHamilton Farm Petroglyphs are along this section. Much of this last stretch of US 119 heading towardsUniontown, Pennsylvania is already bypassed by traffic usingI-68, CR 857, andPA 857 (or the tolledMon-Fayette Expressway). While this alternate route is longer, it has a better alignment and is faster to travel.[1]
US 119 travels throughConnellsville,Greensburg, andPunxsutawney, and bypassesUniontown andIndiana. There are numerous other boroughs and villages along its 133-mile (214 km) route in the Keystone State.
The southern entrance of US 119 is at the West Virginia state line one-half mile south ofPoint Marion. The northern terminus is atUS 219 two miles (3 km) south ofDuBois, Pennsylvania.
US 119's control cities includeMorgantown, West Virginia, Uniontown, Connellsville,New Stanton (for northbound traffic only), Greensburg,Blairsville, Indiana, Punxsutawney, and DuBois.
 U.S. Route 123 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pineville, KY—Jenkins, KY |
| Existed | 1930–1934 |
In 1929U.S. Route 23, which then ended at Jenkins, KY, was extended to Pineville. The following year this section was renumbered to U.S. Route 123, to allow US 23 to be extended in a different direction (towards Kingsport TN). In 1934 US 119 was extended from Morgantown WV into Kentucky, joining US 123 at Jenkins; US 123 was then renumbered to US 119.
Hwy 119 in Kentucky was originally a series of two-lane roads parallelingPine Mountain that connectedPineville toBaxter (just north ofHarlan) and then headed northeast throughCumberland,Whitesburg, andPikeville en route to West Virginia.
Starting in the 1970s, there were a number of projects that widened or replaced sections of the road. In most places, the original route has been largely abandoned, instead cutting through the mountain to provide a much wider and straighter route. Small segments of the original route are still in existence as access roads to communities that predate the expansion. InLoyall the original route is known as Hwy 413, and this parallels Hwy 119 heading northeast until it reaches the community ofRosspoint. During this stretch in Baxter, Hwy 119 also briefly combines withU.S. Route 421, which then splits off and heads north across Pine Mountain. In Rosspoint, the original route of Hwy 119 is designated as Hwy 522. Hwy 522 parallels Hwy 119 all the way to Cumberland, where the final stretch of original highway is called Kingdom Come Dr. before merging with Hwy 119 just south of the Harlan County/Letcher County border.
From this point until the base of Pine Mountain (unofficially called Whitesburg Mountain), the highway is largely unchanged from its original route. On the mountain, Hwy 119 has recently been widened in a number of places in order to make it safer for trucking traffic.
Across the mountain in Whitesburg, Hwy 119 turns northeast. South ofJenkins, Hwy 119 merges withU.S. Route 23 until Pikeville, where it splits off and heads northeast to the West Virginia border.
In 2007, a 6-mile stretch of Hwy 119 northeast of Pikeville, was expanded and improved by cutting through the mountain, once again abandoning the original route which is now known as the Zebulon Hwy. and Bent Branch Rd. Past this point, Hwy 119 follows its original route until exiting Kentucky atSouth Williamson.
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The routing of US 119 south ofCharleston changed drastically with the opening ofCorridor G from 1972 to 1997.
The original routing southeast of the capital wasWV 61 toMarmet, where it tookWV 94 southwest toRacine.[2] From Racine toDanville, it followed today'sWV 3 and onward toMadison. From Madison south toLogan, it followed today'sWV 17.
South of Logan toMountain View, it followedWV 44. At Mountain View, it intersected US 52 and traveled concurrently with it to the northwest, toWilliamson, where it entered Kentucky.
Corridor G | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pikeville, KY –Charleston, WV |
| Length | 105.1 mi[3] (169.1 km) |
| Existed | 1972–present |
Corridor G is ahighway inKentucky andWest Virginia. It is part of theAppalachian Development Highway System, encompassing US 119 for its length. At the southern terminus of Corridor G atCorridor B (US 23/US 460/KY 80) nearPikeville, Kentucky, traffic can continue along Corridor B towards Pikeville andJenkins, where one can pick upCorridor F (US 119) or proceed south on Corridor B (US 23) into Virginia. At the northern terminus atInterstate 64 inCharleston, West Virginia, one can pick upInterstate 77 andInterstate 79, along with theWest Virginia Turnpike.
TheHatfield–McCoy Trails are an ATV and mountain biking network of trails throughout southwestWest Virginia. Three trail heads branch off from various secondary routes accessible from Corridor G.
In 1974,[4] the first segment of Corridor G was completed fromKY 292 (2nd St.) atSouth Williamson south toKY 199 atHuddy. This was a four-lane divided highway that containedmountable medians and jersey barriers, with a mix of state route and driveway access. This is especially evident as US 119 cuts through the center ofBelfry and South Williamson. Several years later, a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) segment of four-lane US 119 along Buckley Creek opened fromCorridor B/US 23/US 460/KY 80 north ofPikeville to what is nowKY 1426 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northeast of Pikeville.
In 1997,[4] a section of US 119 was relocated on new alignment fromKY 3154 (Meathouse Fork Rd.) atCanada east toKY 199 at Huddy. Two years later,[4] a section of US 119 was relocated on new alignment from 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east ofMeta to KY 3154 at Canada. This involved extensive highwall construction at Bent Mountain and Canada Knob.
The final segment of Corridor G in Kentucky to be completed was from theKY 1426 intersection north ofPikeville east to Scott Fork 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of Meta. This segment required the construction of three twin steel-box girder bridges at Johns Creek (KY 194) near Bevins Branch, Winn Branch (Winn Branch Road), and Raccoon Creek (KY 1441).[5] This also includes a modified diamond interchange at what will be old US 119 1/2-mile east of KY 1426 atZebulon.
On June 30, 2006, the "Pinson Family Bridge" was dedicated. It crosses Raccoon Creek andKY 1441. This twin steel-box girder bridge is more than 1,200 ft (370 m) long and is the only example of its kind in Kentucky.[6] The girders were chosen because of the curvature within the bridge structure; each girder is completely hollow and it features a 10 ft (3.0 m). clearance on the interior.
On December 6, 2006, a segment of Corridor G opened from theKY 1426 intersection north ofPikeville east to theKY 194 (Johns Creek) interchange.[7] The last segment to open is from KY 194 north to Scott Fork. That segment was opened in March 2008.
The first segments of Corridor G to open was in 1972.[8] During that year, aMingo County segment fromMyrtle andBelo (MP 13) to theLogan County line nearHolden opened. Segments of this were opened originally as a "super-two" sinceWV 65 was being destroyed; it was critical that the old roadway be removed before the highway was expanded to four-lanes.
In 1973, a lengthy segment opened to traffic fromGodby Heights south ofChapmanville (MP 13) to MP 4 inBoone County.[8] This was followed a year later by a segment nearMadison from MP 9.37 to MP 13 in Boone County. In 1975, the segment from MP 4 to MP 9.37 in Boone County was opened to traffic. At this time, the connection toInterstate 64 inCharleston also opened to traffic from Oakwood Road. This included the flyover ramp from US 119 to the Interstate 64 interchange.
In 1977, a Mingo County segment fromNolan (MP 7.45) atUS 52 to Myrtle (MP 13) opened to traffic.[8]
The next segment to open would come in 1982,[8] when a Boone,Lincoln, and Kanawha County segment opened to traffic fromJulian (MP 17) to theWV 601 interchange inSouth Charleston (MP 11). The segment between the WV 601 interchange to Oakwood Road in Charleston would be completed in 1986;[8] it formerly utilized Oakhurst and Oakwood Roads.
In 1989,[8] a segment from MP 13 toJulian (MP 17) in Boone County opened. In 1992, a new Tug Fork crossing atWilliamson was completed. Formerly, Corridor G traffic from Kentucky had to cross into downtown Williamson and pick up US 119 into West Virginia.
The last segment of Corridor G in West Virginia to be completed was from the Tug Fork crossing at Williamson north toUS 52 nearNolan. This nine-mile (14 km) segment was completed in 1997.[8]
I-64 inCharleston
US 60 in Charleston
I-79 inMink Shoals
US 33 inSpencer
US 19 inWeston
I-79 /US 48 south-southeast of Weston
US 250 inPhilippi
US 50 inGrafton
I-68 south ofMorgantownUS 19 inMorgantown
US 40
I-70 /I-76 inNew Stanton
US 30
US 22 west ofNew Alexandria. The highways travel concurrently to east-northeast ofBlairsville.
US 422
US 322US 219
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