Work is well underway on a major construction project on US 33 in Roane County. The Scott Miller Hill project creates an approximately 4.3-mile bypass on US 35 from Tuckers Run to Middle Fork.
The more than $40 million project eliminates several bad curves and is designed to improve access and promote business growth in Roane County and the town of Spencer. Kanawha Stone of Poca was awarded the construction contract in 2020.
“We’ve waited way too long for projects like this,” said West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E. “When Governor Justice came in with his big, bold vision for the Roads to Prosperity, he set us on a path to doing all these great things on our highways, taking care of decades upon decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure.” |
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“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,” said Spencer Mayor Terry Williams.
Williams, who has been mayor for more than four decades, said the Scott Miller Hill project has been in discussion as long as he can remember.
“This may be one of only two projects that have been in the works longer than the mayor has been mayor,” Wriston joked. “We’re going to get Scott Miller Hill done.
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“This project will make for a safer road for the traveling public and create economic opportunities for the area,” said West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) Chief Engineer of Construction Todd Rumbaugh, P.E.
The massive construction project requires the movement of more than 2.4 million cubic yards of earth. That’s enough dirt to fill more than seven Olympic sized swimming pools.
The bypass is expected to be complete in the fall of 2024.
