State officials broke ground on a new section of Corridor H in Hardy County on Friday.
Gov. Jim Justice and Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston kicked off construction on a three-mile portion of Corridor H between Kerens and Parsons.
Contractors will move seven million cubic yards of earth by the time the project is completed in 2025 at a cost of $49.5 million.
Construction on the highway has been ongoing for decades. About $2 billion has been spent on it, and another $1 billion will be required to complete the road.
Some residents and environmental groups oppose the route of the highway to the south of Thomas, where it would come close to Blackwater Falls State Park.
But Wriston has said his department is pushing forward.
About 100 miles of the 132-mile road are open to traffic.