The Regional Intergovernmental Council’s (RIC’s) long-range transportation plan, Metro Mobility 2040, highlighted the significant traffic flow and capacity deficiencies in the WV 622 corridor through Cross Lanes. WV 622 is also known as Goff Mountain Road south of WV 62 and Big Tyler Road north of WV 62. Problems in this corridor are not new. Previous studies of this corridor date back to 1981 with the Cross Lanes Subarea Transportation Plan Study, which was subsequently updated in 1999. These prior studies explored a number of potential transportation improvements in the corridor. Some recommendations from these studies have been implemented, but most were not. Large and costly projects that would provide alternative connections to I-64 (in lieu of using WV 622) were considered and recommended. However, the high costs and potential environmental and property impacts of such recommendations have made them impractical to implement.  

RIC, in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), retained Burgess & Niple, Inc. to lead a new transportation planning study of the WV 622 corridor from New Goff Mountain Road to Doc Bailey Road to clearly identify and define current transportation problems and needs, and to identify cost effective solutions to improve transportation conditions.