US 119 in West Virginia

 

US 119
Begin Williamson
End Morgantown
Length 281 mi
Length 452 km
Route
  • Williamson
  • Chapmanville
  • Madison
  • South Charleston
  • Charleston
  • Clenden’s
  • Spencer
  • Glenville
  • Weston
  • Buckhannon
  • Philippi
  • Grafton
  • Morgantown
  • Pennsylvania

US 119 is a US Highway in the US state of West Virginia. The road forms a north-south route through the center of the state, from the Kentucky border through Charleston and Morgantown to the Pennsylvania border. US 119 is 452 kilometers long in West Virginia.

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Travel directions

The Mud Fork Bridge at Logan.

US 119 south of Charleston.

US 119 generally follows a northeasterly route through West Virginia. The southern part from Williamson to Charleston is a major route and is designed as a 2×2 divided highway. North of Charleston, US 119 is more secondary in character, has some double numbers and runs parallel to Interstate 79, avoiding most of the larger towns on that corridor. Only Morgantown is visited as a larger city.

Southern West Virginia

US 119 in Kentucky comes from Pikeville and crosses the Tug Fork, a tributary of the Big Sandy River that forms the border between Kentucky and West Virginia. The US 119 forms the bypass of the town of Williamson at this point and a double numbering with US 52 immediately begins. The US 52/119 is a 2×2 divided highway. After Nolan, both routes split, US 119 heads northeast. US 119 is a 2×2 divided highway for a distance of 130 kilometers to Charleston. The road leads through sparsely populated and isolated countryside, which here consists of strongly hilly terrain with narrow valleys and steep slopes. The US 119 winds from valley to valley and only runs through small villages. Only Chapmanville and Danville-Madison are somewhat larger towns on the route. Incidentally, the road has larger viaducts and excavations. In the valley of the Kanawha River in the capital Charleston, US 119 connects to Interstate 64.

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Northern West Virginia

In Charleston one crosses the Kanawha River via the bridge of I-64, after which the US 119 runs over the street network parallel to the Interstate 79. US 119 then follows the Elk River valley between Charleston and Clendenin for approximately 20 miles. This runs parallel to I-79 for a fairly short distance. From Clendenin, US 119 turns north, intersects I-79, and proceeds further away from.

Subsequently, US 119 has a 130 kilometer long double numbering system, largely with US 33, but later also with US 48. This route is a time-consuming route that is very winding and takes you through every village. The terrain here is very hilly, although the differences in height are relatively limited. However, there are no clear valleys. US 119 runs via Glenville to Weston, where it crosses US 19. Shortly thereafter, one crosses I-79 for the last time. Then US 119 has a double numbering with US 33 and US 48 to Buckhannon, this is a 2×2 divided highway.

US 119 then exits off the main road at Buckhannon and heads north, paralleling I-79 for some distance. This part is a winding single-lane road that has been poorly developed. The road runs through Grafton to Morgantown, where there is a connection to Interstate 68. Morgantown is a larger town on the Monongahela River. Here you cross the US 19 again. US 119 cuts through downtown Morgantown and then continues to the Pennsylvania state border, before US 119 continues in Pennsylvania to Uniontown and Greensburg.

History

US 119 was one of the original US Highways of 1926. Its southern starting point was Morgantown at the time, so the route only ran a short distance through West Virginia. In 1934, the route was extended across the state to Pikeville, Kentucky, creating the current route.

The southern portion of US 119 is also Corridor G of the Appalachian Development Highway System. Under this program, US 119 between Pikeville, Kentucky and Charleston, West Virginia was widened to a 2×2 divided highway over a period of three decades between 1972 and 1997.

North of Charleston, US 119 has been replaced by Interstate 79, which opened between 1967 and 1979. As a result, it is primarily a single-lane section, with the exception of a portion that coincides with Corridor H of the Appalachian Development Highway System between I-79 and Buckhannon. This is a double numbering with US 33 and US 48. In 1972 the first section, only 1 kilometer long, opened at the height of the I-79 at Weston. Between 1975 and 1979 the road was built further east to Lorentz as a divided highway, after which construction was halted for some time. In 1991 the section between Lorentz and Buckhannon opened.

US 119 in West Virginia