West Virginia Route 971 is a north–south
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
Wyoming County,
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 route runs from
West Virginia Route 97
West Virginia Route 97 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 52 and West Virginia Route 80 in Hanover. The eastern terminus is at exit 42 of the West Virginia ...
in
Baileysville north to
West Virginia Route 10
West Virginia Route 10 is a north–south route from Cabell County to Mercer County in the western and southern regions of West Virginia. Mostly a two-lane, winding highway with no shoulders, Route 10 is considered to be one of substandard desi ...
in
Oceana. It runs through mountainous, rural terrain, connecting Baileysville and Oceana to the communities of
Clear Fork,
Lillydale, and
Lillyhaven. WV 971 has been the highest numbered state highway in West Virginia since July 2017, when
WV 972
West Virginia Route 972 was a short north–south state highway in Mineral County, West Virginia. It was decommissioned in July 2017, becoming an extension of WV 93. The route connected U.S. Route 220 to U.S. Route 50 in the New Creek Valley ...
was decommissioned and absorbed by
WV 93
West Virginia Route 93 is an east–west state highway located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. WV 93 runs from U.S. Route 48 and West Virginia Route 32 in Davis in Tucker County to U.S. Route 220 near Keyser in Mineral County.
R ...
.
Route description
WV 971 begins at a junction with WV 97 in Baileysville, north of the
Guyandotte River
The Guyandotte River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 166 mi (267 km) long, in southwestern West Virginia in the United States. It was named after the French term for the Wendat Native Americans. It drains an area of ...
. Its southern terminus lies within the
R. D. Bailey Lake Wildlife Management Area, the bulk of which is located to the west of the highway. From here, the route heads north into a mountainous rural area, following the David Branch. The highway follows a winding path until meeting the Schoolhouse Branch in Clear Fork, which it follows to an intersection with County Route 6. Past this junction, the route runs northwest and then east through Clear Fork. Following the Clear Fork of the Guyandotte River and the
Norfolk Southern Railroad
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
, WV 971 continues north into rural terrain. Turning northeast, the route passes
Westside High School and enters a residential area. Upon resuming its northward trajectory, the highway runs through the communities of Lillydale and Lillyhaven. The route continues northeast into the west side of Oceana, where it terminates at WV 10.
Major intersections
References
{{commonscat, West Virginia Route 971
971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
Transportation in Wyoming County, West Virginia