Home

I-68 HISTORY

I-68 HISTORY

Interstate 68 is a 112.9-mile highway in the states of West Virginia and Maryland. It connects Interstate 79 in Morgantown to Interstate 70 in Hancock, Maryland. Interstate 68 ( I-68 ) is “Corridor E” of the Appalachian Development Highway System.

I-68 provides a major transportation route in western Maryland and northern West Virginia and also provides an alternative to the Pennsylvania Turnpike for westbound traffic from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

The construction of I-68 began in 1965 and continued for more than 25 years, with completion on August 2, 1991. While the road was under construction, it was predicted that economic conditions would improve along the corridor for the four counties connected by I-68: Allegany and Garrett in Maryland, and Preston and Monongalia in West Virginia.

The goal of the Authority is to add a new additional extension to the existing finished portion of I-68, referred to as “the I-68 ENERGY CORRIDOR”, from I-79 near Morgantown, WV, in North Central West Virginia to WV Route 2 along the Ohio River.  Several routes have been proposed for this extension.

The 73 miles of roadway will be added to the existing National Highway System and become eligible for federal funding when such money becomes available. The cost of completing the freeway in West Virginia has been estimated at nearly $1 billion in current U.S. dollars.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *