West Virginia Route 2

West Virginia Route 2 is a state highway in the US state of West Virginia. It generally parallels the Ohio River along the western border of the state, from U.S. Route 60 in Huntington (just west of the East End Bridge) northeasterly to U.S. Route 30 in Chester (just south of the Jennings Randolph Memorial Bridge).

West Virginia Route 2
Route information
Maintained by WVDOH
Length	230.6 mi[1] (371.1 km)
Existed	1920s–present
Major junctions
South end	US 60 in Huntington
	US 35 near Pt. Pleasant US 50 near Parkersburg I-77 concurrent between Silverton and Parkersburg US 250 concurrent between Moundsville and Wheeling I-470 in Wheeling I-70 in Wheeling US 40 in Wheeling US 22 in Weirton
North end	US 30 in Chester
Location
Counties	Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants, Wood, Jackson, Mason, Cabell
Highway system
West Virginia State Highway System Interstate US State ← WV 972 WV 3 →

WV 2 leaves the shores of the Ohio River in two places: between Point Pleasant and Mount Alto (where West Virginia Route 62 follows the river) and between Ravenswood and Waverly (where West Virginia Route 68 mostly follows the river). The entire route is included as a part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.

History

A stretch of WV 2 located in northeastern Cabell County

Huntington to Parkersburg

WV 2 was reconstructed from Lesage to Glenwood as an improved two-lane highway with shoulders on a four-lane right-of-way in the mid-1980s.

View north along WV 2 at WV 16 in St. Marys

Parkersburg to Wheeling

WV 2 follows the Ohio River from Parkersburg to Wheeling. Portions have been upgraded to four and five lanes, with eventual plans to upgrade the entire corridor.[2]

Wheeling to Chester

WV 2 is a variable two-lane and four-lane highway from Wheeling to its northern terminus at Chester.

For a time, Route 2 deviated from its current alignment to follow a more northeasterly route from New Cumberland to US 30 via the unincorporated area of New Manchester. The current alignment of WV 2 passing the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort to US 30 was formerly numbered WV 66 and is reflected as such in many of the county highways in the area. The former routing of WV 2 is now WV 8.

On June 23, 2000, work began on a project that widened WV 2 from two to four lanes from Weirton at US 22 (Robert C. Byrd Expressway) south to CR 8 near Follansbee. The project length was just 0.9 miles. Work was supposed to be complete by June 2001, however, construction wrapped up on October 31 at a cost of $21,444,875.[3] The project entailed stabilizing the hillside by reshaping the highwall, widening the roadway with four 12-foot (3.7 m) lanes, creating 10-foot (3.0 m) outside shoulders, and 8-foot (2.4 m) interior shoulders. 3.9 million cubic yards of earth were removed during the excavation process.

A roadside hot dog stand, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, located along WV 2 in Lesage.

One year later, the highway widening project progressed further south for 2.5 miles (4.0 km).[4]

1909 stone masonry rail bridge crossing WV-2 near Point Pleasant

Notes

• The state route is the subject of Driving Up the Ohio River on Route 2 in Late Fall, a poem by Larry Smith. The poem was featured on the October 26, 2006 edition of The Writer's Almanac radio program.[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Cabell	Huntington			US 60 to I-64 – Downtown Huntington, Proctorville	Southern terminus of WV 2
	​			WV 193 south to I-64 / US 60 – Barboursville	Northern terminus of WV 193
Mason	Henderson			US 35 – Chillicothe, Ohio, Charleston	Interchange
	Henderson–Point Pleasant line			Bartow Jones Bridge over Kanawha River
	Point Pleasant			To WV 62 north / Viand Street – Point Pleasant, Mason
				WV 62 north – Mason	Southern terminus of first WV 62 concurrency
	​			WV 62 south – Buffalo	Northern terminus of first WV 62 concurrency
	​			WV 87 east – Evans	Western terminus of WV 87
Jackson	Mount Alto			WV 62 south / WV 331 east – New Haven, Cottageville	Southern terminus of second WV 62 concurrency
	​			WV 62 north – Ripley	Northern terminus of second WV 62 concurrency
	Ravenswood			US 33 west / WV 68 north – Ravenswood, Columbus, OH	Southern terminus of US 33 concurrency
	Silverton			I-77 south / US 33 east / CR 56 east (Green Hills Road) – Ripley, Charleston	Northern terminus of US 33 concurrency; southern terminus of I-77 concurrency; WV 2 south follows exit 146
see I-77
Wood	​			I-77 north / WV 68 south (Emerson Avenue) – Marietta, OH, Vienna, Ohio Valley University	Northern terminus of I-77 concurrency; WV 2 north follows exit 179
	​			WV 31 south – Deerwalk	Southern terminus of WV 31 concurrency
	​			WV 31 north – MOV Regional Airport, Williamstown	Northern terminus of WV 31 concurrency
Pleasants	​			To SR 7 / Carpenter Memorial Bridge (WV 807) – Newport, OH
	St. Marys			WV 16 south – Ellenboro, Pleasants County Park	Northern terminus of WV 16
Tyler	Sistersville			WV 18 south – Middlebourne	Northern terminus of WV 18
				Charles Street – Sistersville Ferry
Wetzel	​			WV 180 south – Middlebourne	Northern terminus of WV 180
	New Martinsville			WV 7 east to WV 20	Southern terminus of WV 7 concurrency
				SR 7 / New Martinsville Bridge (WV 7 west) – Ohio	Interchange; northern terminus of WV 7 concurrency
	Proctor			CR 89	Western terminus of CR 89; formerly WV 89
Marshall	​			WV 2 Alt. north (Round Bottom Hill Road)	Southern terminus of Alternate WV 2
	​			WV 2 Alt. south / CR 21 (Roberts Ridge Road) – Airport	Northern terminus of Alternate WV 2
	Moundsville			To SR 7 / 12th Street / Moundsville Bridge (WV 2 Spur) – Bellaire, OH, Powhatan Point, OH
				US 250 south – Central Business District, Cameron, Grand Vue Park	Southern terminus of US 250 concurrency; southbound exit and northbound entrance
				To US 250 south / 7th Street – Grand Vue Park
	Glen Dale			WV 86 north	Southern terminus of WV 86
	McMechen			East Baltimore Street – McMechen	Northbound exit only
				12th Street – McMechen
				3rd Street – McMechen	Northbound access only; Southern terminus of freeway
	Benwood			South Marshall Street – Benwood, McMechen
				Bellaire Bridge	Former interchange
				4th Street – Benwood
				CR 1 (Boggs Run Road)
Ohio	Wheeling			I-470 / 26th Street	I-470 exit 1
				US 250 north to I-70 – Columbus, Washington	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern terminus of US 250 concurrency; northern terminus of freeway
				10th Street (Wheeling Suspension Bridge)
				I-70 / US 40 west – Columbus, Washington	Southern terminus of US 40 concurrency; I-70 exit 1A
				US 40 east (National Road) to I-70 east	Northern terminus of US 40 concurrency
Brooke	Wellsburg			WV 67 east – Bethany, West Liberty University, Bethany College	Western terminus of WV 67
				WV 27 east (10th Street)	Western terminus of WV 27
	Follansbee			WV 27 Alt. east	Western terminus of Alternate WV 27
	​			Market Street Bridge – Steubenville
	​			US 22 west – Steubenville, Ohio	Interchange; southern terminus of US 22 concurrency; WV 2 south follows exit 1
	Weirton Junction			US 22 east – Pittsburgh	Interchange; northern terminus of US 22 concurrency; WV 2 north follows exit 2
Hancock	Weirton			CR 507 west (Freedom Way)	Western terminus of CR 507 concurrency
				CR 507 east (Cove Road)	Eastern terminus of CR 507 concurrency
				WV 105 east (Penn Avenue)	Western terminus of WV 105
	New Cumberland			WV 8 north – New Manchester	Southern terminus of WV 8
	Newell			Newell Toll Bridge
	Chester			US 30 – East Liverpool, Pittsburgh	Interchange; northern terminus of WV 2
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Distance calculated using Microsoft MapPoint mapping software.
2. "Route 2 | I-68 Authority".
3. "WV 2 Project Follansbee-Weirton Road II." West Virginia Department of Transportation. Nov. 1, 2006
4. "Panhandle Archaic." West Virginia Department of Culture. Nov. 1, 2006
5. THURSDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2006 The Writer's Almanac from American Public Media.