On Memorial Day weekend there was a mile-long backup at the Route 340 bridge and Harpers Ferry Gap. It’s a sign that people want to come here to enjoy the diversity of experiences we have to offer, from outdoor recreation to cultural attractions to races and gaming. It’s also a danger sign that we must deal with our most pressing infrastructure needs now, or risk devaluing our county as a place to live and visit.

The good news is that over the last several years we’ve done what a lot of people said could not be done. We grew the cultural economy while welcoming increasing numbers of visitors to Charles Town Races & Slots. We’ve shown that annual events like the Contemporary American Theater Festival,  Goose Route Dance Festival, and new galleries and heritage attractions, can be compatible with large-scale tourism attractions like gaming. In general, quality of life for residents has improved—more art, more good restaurants, more things to do.

At the same time, we’ve accepted our role as an essential funding source for state coffers by allowing table games at Hollywood Casino. It’s not too far fetched to say someday we will send half a billion dollars to Charleston each year from our combined tourism economy.

Now we have to deal with those traffic jams. It’s time to deal with the “Gateway” connecting Maryland and Virgina to Charles Town.

We missed a great opportunity a few years ago when we re-built the bridge over the Shenandoah. We could have forced the National Park Service and federal government, which controls Harpers Ferry Gap, to help create a beautiful safe entrance into our state. Those efforts were blocked by the National Park Service’s notion that Harpers Ferry’s heritage was better preserved by a crowded, cramped, treacherous road through the gap—where paddlers and rafters are dodging harried motorists—than by a world-class parkway through the gap that extends all the way to Charles Town. It’s time to fix this.

The County Commission is developing concepts for Route 340 from Harpers Ferry Gap to the Virginia line south of Rippon. But this is more than a local problem.

If the rest of West Virginia wants our tourism and gaming taxes, the Manchin administration needs to engage the federal government to bring federal money and assistance to build a long-term plan for Route 340 that facilitates safe travel and recreational access to the famed Shenandoah River; creates a world-class parkway-style passage through the region Jefferson said was worth a trip across the Atlantic; improves the quality of life for Jefferson County residents; and enables economic and residential development along Route 340 that we can be proud of.

What we have achieved as a county will be jeopardized if we can’t figure out basic transportation infrastructure and community planning. We urge our county commission, Statehouse delegation, and our U.S. Representative and Senators to force the issue in Charleston and Washington, D.C. We deserve it.