A West Virginia highway project that has been decades in the making is opening this Thursday in Roane County. The 4.3-mile Scott Miller Hill Bypass on U.S. Route 33 will be opening two months ahead of schedule.
“This one’s been a long time coming,” said Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E. “This one’s really close to the hearts of a lot of people in West Virginia.”
The $40.4 million project was built by Kanawha Stone after being awarded a contract in 2020. It eliminates a curvy and steep section of highway south of the town of Spencer, providing an easier access to Roane County.
“Scott Miller Hill always had a lot of accidents because of the steepness of the grade. Most of our goods and services are brought here by truck,” Spencer Mayor Terry Williams said in the news release.
Williams has been mayor for over four decades and says the project has been in discussion for as long as he can remember.
“I had an engineer the other day give me some records where he and I were in a meeting with several people at that time and they were 42 years ago,” Williams said. “I had my name and date written on them. That's been awhile."
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Source: WCHS Charleston/Huntington, Fox 11, West Virginia DOT
