U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia

U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50
	U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia, in red
Route information
	Maintained by WVDOH
Length	196.20 mi (315.75 km)
Existed	1926–present
Western section
West end	US 50 / SR 32 in Belpre, OH
Major intersections	I-77 in Parkersburg; US 19 in Clarksburg; I-79 in Clarksburg; US 250 near Grafton; US 119 in Grafton;
East end	US 50 near Brookside
Eastern section
West end	US 50 in Gormania
Major intersections	US 220 in New Creek
East end	US 50 towards Winchester, VA
Location
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Counties	Wood, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor, Preston; Grant, Mineral, Hampshire
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; West Virginia State Highway System; Interstate; US; State;

U.S. Route 50 (US 50) in West Virginia runs from the border with Ohio to Virginia, passing briefly through Garrett County, Maryland, and following the Northwestern Turnpike. Prior to the U.S. Highway System it was West Virginia Route 1 and in the 1930s, the road was not finished in Maryland. Today the section of US 50 from Clarksburg to Parkersburg on the Ohio River is part of Corridor D of the Appalachian Development Highway System.

Between Parkersburg and Wolf Summit, Route 50 roughly parallels the North Bend Rail Trail and crosses the trail at three places.^[2]

Route description

Western segment

US 50 crosses the Ohio River on a bridge, with Blennerhassett Island in the middle of the river. It continues as a freeway with two interchanges at Route 892, and runs concurrently with Route 68 starting at the second interchange up to where it exits and heads into downtown Parkersburg. US 50 stays on the southern shore of the Little Kanawha River, intersecting Route 14 and then after crossing the river, Route 47 and Route 618 before becoming a divided expressway at the I-77 interchange. US 50 then briefly turns south before heading east through the forest. South of Deerwalk, the route runs concurrently with Route 31 for a few miles. In Ellenboro, US 50 has an interchange with Route 16, providing access into the town; an intersection with Route 74 does the same for Pennsboro, and several miles later, Route 18 for West Union. Route 23 intersects the highway west of East Salem and Bristol.^[3]

Upon entering Clarksburg, there is a diamond interchange with US 19 and Route 20 before US 50 passes through the town as a freeway, with several interchanges, including another with Route 20. After an interchange with I-79, US 50 becomes Main Street, passing through the city of Bridgeport and intersecting Route 131 and passing south of the North Central West Virginia Airport. The route intersects Route 279 and then runs concurrently with US 250 until just before US 50 enters Fetterman and then Grafton. US 50 intersects US 119 in the eastern part of the city before continuing east through Thornton and curving through the mountains to Evansville. Route 92 briefly runs concurrently with the highway, and Route 26 intersects the route near Fellowsville. After several miles through the forest, Route 72 briefly runs concurrently with the highway before US 50 continues east into Aurora and intersects Route 24. Then, US 50 crosses into Maryland.^[3]

Eastern segment

US 50 crosses back into West Virginia over the north bank of the Potomac River. After passing through Gormania, the highway continues through the forest, and runs concurrently with Route 42 from near Mount Storm to near Hartmansville. Near Claysville, the route intersects Route 93, and Route 972 intersect US 50 near New Creek. US 220 runs concurrently with US 50 through Ridgeville, Markwood, and Burlington. At Junction, US 220 splits off to the south, and Route 28 continues east with US 50 through Mechanicsburg and through the river plain. In the town of Romney, US 50 goes through downtown, while Route 28 continues north. The highway goes through Shanks and Frenchburg, as well as Augusta; Route 29 runs concurrently through Pleasantdale. US 50 continues east through Hanging Rock and Loom, crossing the Cacapon River in Capon Bridge. US 50 then continues into Virginia.^[4]

Water crossings

Mill Branch east of Capon Bridge, West Virginia
Cacapon River via Capon Bridge at Capon Bridge, West Virginia
North River via Hanging Rock Bridge at Hanging Rock
Tearcoat Creek via Pleasant Dale Bridge at Pleasant Dale
North and South Forks of the Little Cacapon River at Frenchburg, West Virginia
South Branch Potomac River via Romney Bridge at Romney
Patterson Creek via Patterson Creek Bridge at Burlington
New Creek via New Creek Bridge at New Creek
North Branch Potomac River via Gormania Bridge at the state line with Maryland
Tygart Valley River via US 50 Bridge at Grafton
West Fork River via US 50 Bridge at Clarksburg
Ohio River via Blennerhassett Island Bridge at Parkersburg

Historic sites

Saddle Mountain at sunrise, as viewed from Skyline atop the Allegheny Front along U.S. 50 in West Virginia

Mineral County

Hampshire County

Hook's Tavern, 1790
Capon Bridge
- Frye's Inn, c. 1800
- Amos Pugh House
Cooper Mountain Overlook
Hanging Rock
Straw's Country Store Museum
Historic Downtown Romney
- West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind, 1846
- Hampshire County Courthouse, 1922
- Literary Hall, 1870
- Indian Mound Cemetery
- Mount Pisgah Benevolence Cemetery
Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches
The Burg, built c. 1769
Sloan–Parker House (Stone House), built 1790

Major intersections

County	Location	Destinations	Notes
Wood		US 50 west to SR 7 / SR 32 – Athens, Belpre	Ohio state line (Blennerhassett Island Bridge over Ohio River)
		WV 892 (Dupont Road) – Washington	interchange
		CR 34/4 (River Hill Road)	interchange
		WV 68 south – Ravenswood	interchange; west end of WV 68 overlap
	Marrtown	CR 9 (Marrtown Road)	interchange
		WV 68 north (Juliana Street) – Downtown Parkersburg	interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of WV 68 overlap
	Parkersburg	WV 14 (Division Street) – Downtown Parkersburg	interchange
		WV 47 (Staunton Avenue)	interchange
		WV 618 (7th Street)	interchange
		I-77 / WV 2 – Marietta, OH, Charleston	I-77 exit 176
	Deerwalk	WV 31 north / CR 50/16 (Riser Ridge Road) – Deerwalk	west end of WV 31 overlap
Ritchie		WV 31 south – Cairo	east end of WV 31 overlap
	Ellenboro	WV 16 – Ellenboro, Harrisville	interchange
	Pennsboro	WV 74 – Pennsboro, Pullman
Doddridge		WV 18 – West Union, Glenville
Harrison		WV 23 – Alma, Salem, Fort New Salem, Salem International University
	East Salem	Downtown Salem (CR 50/73)	interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Clarksburg	US 19 / WV 20 (West Pike Street)	interchange
		West Virginia Avenue / Sycamore Street	interchange
		Chestnut Street	interchange
		3rd Street / 2nd Street - Downtown Clarksburg	interchange
		WV 20 (Joyce Street)	interchange
		I-79 – Fairmont, Charleston	I-79 exit 119
	Bridgeport	WV 58 west (Virginia Avenue) to I-79
		WV 131 north (Benedum Drive) – Airport
		WV 76 east – Flemington
		WV 279 west to I-79
Taylor		US 250 north – Fairmont	west end of US 250 overlap
	Pruntytown	US 250 south – Elkins	east end of US 250 overlap
	Grafton	WV 310 north – Valley Falls State Park
	Grafton	US 119
Preston		WV 92 north – Arthurdale, Reedsville	west end of WV 92 overlap
		WV 92 south – Nestorville, Belington	east end of WV 92 overlap
	Fellowsville	WV 26 north – Kingwood
	Macomber	WV 72 south – Parsons	west end of WV 72 overlap
	Macomber	WV 72 north – Rowlesburg	east end of WV 72 overlap
	Brookside	WV 24 south – Thomas
		US 50 east (George Washington Highway)
US 50 passes through Maryland
Garrett	Gorman	US 50 west (George Washington Highway)
North Branch Potomac River		Gormania Bridge
Grant	Gormania	WV 90 south – Thomas
Grant	Mount Storm	WV 42 south – Petersburg	west end of WV 42 overlap
Mineral		WV 42 north – Elk Garden, Jennings Randolph Lake	east end of WV 42 overlap
	Claysville	WV 93 west – Scherr	west end of WV 93 overlap
	New Creek	WV 93 east to US 220 north – Keyser	east end of WV 93 overlap
		US 220 north – Keyser	west end of US 220 overlap
Hampshire	Junction	US 220 south / WV 28 south – Moorefield	east end of US 220 overlap; west end of WV 28 overlap
	Romney	WV 28 north	east end of WV 28 overlap
		WV 29 north – Paw Paw	west end of WV 29 overlap
		WV 29 south – Baker	east end of WV 29 overlap
		US 50 east – Winchester	Virginia state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus