The Hinton Chamber of Commerce and Jim Carrico, then superintendent of the New River Gorge National River, initially proposed the parkway in the early 1980s to establish a scenic highway along the New River to Sandstone Falls. Planning for the highway begin in 1985 when the West Virginia Legislature authorized the road and established the New River Parkway Authority. The highway was funded in 1987, and the West Virginia Division of Highways released the first plans for the route in 1991. Environmental concerns stalled the project through the 1990s, but in 1998 the Parkway Authority finalized a route along County Route 26. The plans became contentious, however, when local residents learned that all private property between the route and the river would be claimed for the parkway by eminent domain. After a 1999 public hearing, the Division of Highways opted to change the buyout plan in the face of public opposition.
