Editing Interstate 68 (section)

===Corridor E===
{{For|the current US&nbsp;48|U.S. Route 48}}
{{infobox road small
|country=USA
|type=US
|route=48
|location=[[Morgantown, West Virginia]]–[[Hancock, Maryland]]
|formed=1965
|deleted=1991
}}
[[File:2017-07-30 17 59 35 View east along Interstate 68 just east of Exit 23 (West Virginia State Route 26, Bruceton Mills) in Preston County, West Virginia.jpg|thumb|right|View east along I-68 east of WV&nbsp;26 in Preston County, West Virginia]]
In 1965, the Appalachian Development Act was passed, authorizing the establishment of the [[Appalachian Development Highway System|ADHS]], which was meant to provide access to areas throughout the [[Appalachian Mountains]] that were not previously served by the Interstate Highway System. A set of corridors was defined, comprising {{convert|3090|mi|km}} of highways from [[New York (state)|New York]] to [[Mississippi]]. Corridor&nbsp;E in this system was defined to have endpoints at [[Interstate 79|I-79]] in [[Morgantown, West Virginia]], and [[Interstate 70|I-70]] in [[Hancock, Maryland]]. At the time, there were no freeways along the corridor, though construction on the Cumberland Thruway began that year.<ref name=demolition_bridge/><ref name=md_map_1960>{{cite map |author= Maryland State Roads Commission |scale= c. 1:380,160 |location= Annapolis |publisher = Maryland State Roads Commission |title = Map of Maryland |year = 1960 |url = http://www.mdhighwaycentennial.com/images/template/gallery/maps/1960SIDE1.jpg |access-date = February 4, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205112246/http://www.mdhighwaycentennial.com/images/template/gallery/maps/1960SIDE1.jpg |archive-date = February 5, 2009 }}</ref> It was this corridor that would eventually become I-68.<ref name=arc>{{cite web |author = Appalachian Regional Commission |publisher = Appalachian Regional Commission |title = Highway Program |url = http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1006 |year = 2007 |access-date = January 17, 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090117183319/http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1006 |archive-date = January 17, 2009 |df = mdy-all }}</ref>

The construction of Corridor&nbsp;E, which was also designated as US&nbsp;48, took over 20&nbsp;years and hundreds of millions of dollars to complete.<ref name=mdrd/> The cost of completing the freeway in West Virginia has been estimated at $113&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|113000000|1976}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name="wtov">{{cite news |publisher = [[WTOV-TV]] |location = Steubenville, OH |date = September 9, 2003 |title = I-68 Extension Gets Important Federal Endorsement |url = http://www.wtov9.com/news/news/i-68-extension-gets-important-federal-endorsement/nJK5x/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120322191018/http://www.wtov9.com/news/news/i-68-extension-gets-important-federal-endorsement/nJK5x/ |archive-date = March 22, 2012 |access-date = January 17, 2009 }}</ref> The cost of building I-68 from Cumberland to the West Virginia state line came to $126&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|126000000|1976}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}); the portion between Cumberland and [[Sideling Hill]] cost $182&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|182000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}); and the section at Sideling Hill cost $44&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|44000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name=mdrd>{{cite journal |author = Maryland State Highway Administration |publisher = Maryland State Highway Administration |periodical = Maryland Roads |title = Building the National Freeway |date = August 2, 1991 |url = http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagser/s1800/s1883/000000/000017/pdf/msa_s1883_000017.pdf |page = 5 |access-date = December 12, 2014 |archive-date = December 13, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141213023035/http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagser/s1800/s1883/000000/000017/pdf/msa_s1883_000017.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref>

Much of the work in building the freeway was completed during the 1970s, with US&nbsp;48 opened from Vocke Road in LaVale to [[Maryland Route 36|MD&nbsp;36]] in [[Frostburg, Maryland|Frostburg]] on October 12, 1973, and to [[Maryland Route 546|MD&nbsp;546]] on November 1, 1974.<ref name=mdrd/><ref name=frb>{{cite news |work = Cumberland News |date = October 13, 1973 |title = New Section of Freeway Now Open |page=8}}</ref> On November 15, 1975, the West Virginia portion and a {{convert|adj=on|14|mi|km}} portion from the West Virginia state line to [[Keysers Ridge, Maryland|Keysers Ridge]] in Maryland opened, followed by the remainder of the freeway in [[Garrett County, Maryland|Garrett County]] on August 13, 1976.<ref name=mdrd/>

In the 1980s, the focus of construction shifted to the east of Cumberland, where a {{convert|19|mi|km|adj=on}} section of the road still had not been completed. The first corridor for the construction to be approved by the [[Maryland State Highway Administration]] (MDSHA) ran south of US&nbsp;40. This corridor would have bypassed towns in eastern Allegany County, such as [[Flintstone, Maryland|Flintstone]], leaving them without access to the freeway, and would have passed directly through [[Green Ridge State Forest]], the largest state forest in Maryland. This proposed corridor provoked strong opposition, largely due to the environmental damage that would be caused by the road construction in Green Ridge State Forest. Environmental groups sued MDSHA in order to halt the planned construction, but the court ruled in favor of the state highway administration. In 1984, however, MDSHA reversed its earlier decision and chose an alignment that closely paralleled US&nbsp;40, passing through Flintstone and to the north of Green Ridge State Forest. Construction on the final section of I-68 began May 25, 1987, and was completed on August 2, 1991.<ref name=mdrd/><ref name=nrr>{{cite book |location = Baltimore |publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press |first1 = Karl |last1 = Raitz |first2 = George |last2 = Thompson |name-list-style=amp |year = 1996 |isbn = 978-0-8018-5155-1 |page = 331 |title = The National Road }}</ref>