West Virginia Route 956 (WV 956) is a east–west

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the northeastern portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The western terminus of WV 956 is at the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

state line at Rocket Center, where it becomes

Maryland Route 956 Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

(MD 956) at the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

crossing. Its eastern terminus is at a

T-intersection A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...

with WV 28 at Short Gap. Along its path, WV 956 passes over

Knobly Mountain Knobly Mountain is a ridge and part of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located east of New Creek Mountain in Mineral and Grant counties, West Virginia, in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known a ...

. WV 956 was formerly County Route 9/6, intersecting CR 9 near its east end at Short Gap.

Route description

WV 956 runs entirely within Mineral County. The two-lane highway begins at the Maryland state line along its bridge over the Potomac River at Rocket Center, where it takes over for MD 956, which itself started just over to the northwest of this point at

U.S. Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for fr ...

(US 220). Heading southeast from the state line, WV 956 provides access to

Allegany Ballistics Laboratory Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) located in Rocket Center, West Virginia, is a diverse industrial complex employing some 1,000 people across . The facility is a member of the Federal Laboratory Consortium and is operated by Northrop Grumma ...

. The route then crosses Knobly Mountain, following a path in the shape of an sideways "U" amidst a heavily wooded terrain. WV 956 straightens out as it comes down from the mountain traveling to the southeast. Arriving in Short Gap, WV 956 comes to an end where it meets WV 28 at a T-intersection.

Major intersections

References

{{commonscat, West Virginia Route 956

956 Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the ...

Transportation in Mineral County, West Virginia