CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The single most important political issue for West Virginia's economic future is how to create more jobs. Sustainable jobs with long-term benefits that diversify the state's economy.

And as with most economic development initiatives it begins with an investment in infrastructure.

Corridor H is easily the most important infrastructure project in the state and, when completed, will result in our greatest return on investment.

Unfortunately, Corridor H has long been labeled a pork-barrel project nationally with virtually no politically defensible reason to exist when viewed from that perspective.

But recasting Corridor H's political image can and should be a top priority for West Virginia's congressional delegation.

It begins by making the case for funding its completion as Interstate 66 under the auspices of Homeland Security as a planned evacuation route for Washington and Northern Virginia.

As background, Interstate 66 was originally proposed as a futuristic east-west intermodal transportation system designed to channel commerce along a central passageway that would span the nation and include high-speed rail service.

Dubbed the I-66 Transcontinental Corridor, its rail component was later found to be cost-prohibitive; however, the highway portion of the project was deemed to be feasible, albeit with a more limited scope.

Today, I-66 already has been built from Washington to very near West Virginia at the junction of Interstate 81, a heavily congested north-south artery for commercial trucking.

And the Commonwealth of Virginia did build an intermodal facility at this junction where rail- and highway-borne commerce meet to form competitive advantages based on logistical economies associated with the supply chain.

Direct access to the Virginia Inland Port in Front Royal, Va., could benefit West Virginia tremendously by opening the state's heartland to a wide range of new international business and industrial opportunities.

This is especially true given the soon-to-be-completed Panama Canal expansion, coupled with the fact that the inland port serves as a designated U.S. Customs and U.S. Department of Agriculture point of entry.

And there is precedent for the redesignation, as Interstate 68 from Morgantown to Cumberland, Md., was Corridor E before it was upgraded, resulting in a much safer highway -- something that can be done all along the designated right of way of Corridor H.

What it will take is the political will to see it through and the ability to work with the president -- something that will never happen so long as Rep. Shelley Capito continues to vilify the administration for a so-called jobs-killing agenda.

To the point, West Virginia has already lost one huge opportunity when shovel-ready projects were sought several years ago under the various federal stimulus programs.

And if Interstate 73/74, currently being built in West Virginia's southwestern coalfields, can be designated a "national high priority," then Congress can do the same for I-66.

The most important political issue for West Virginia's economic future really is how to create more jobs.

Let's borrow a page from the Eisenhower administration and expand upon what has been proven to be one of the greatest economic development projects in our nation's history.

I-66 is worth fighting for, and when it is completed it will yield one of the highest returns of any investment in infrastructure in West Virginia history.

Swint, a commercial property broker in Charleston, is the Democratic candidate for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District seat.