Coalfields Expressway segment to get $25 million federal boost

Dec. 20—Federal funding of $25 million has been earmarked to aid in construction of a segment of the Coalfields Expressway between Rt. 16 in Wyoming County and Mullens.

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., made the announcement Monday.

The funding is from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

"When the EPW (Environment and Public Works) Committee was crafting the surface transportation bill, I fought specifically to create and include a brand new program called the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, and today's funding announcement for the Coalfields Expressway means we are seeing the benefits of that program come to fruition," Capito, who is Ranking Member of the committee, said. "This highway will make our state more accessible, connect workers to jobs, and help drive tourism and other economic activity. Today marks an important step for the future of this key highway project, and I'm looking forward to seeing the impact it will have on all West Virginians."

"Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to bring historic investments to West Virginia — creating long-term, good-paying jobs while also addressing the state's infrastructure needs," Manchin said in the announcement Monday. "The funding announced today will help construct the Coalfields Expressway to better connect our southern West Virginia communities, and I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of this project for years to come. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to improve our roads and bridges, including my Fix Our Country Roads Act, as we address the infrastructure needs of the Mountain State."

Construction of a 7.5-mile section of the Coalfields Expressway between Mullens and Pineville and another 8-mile section between Pineville and the Rt. 16 intersection where King Coal Highway will cross has not yet started. This funding will be used for the section between Mullens and Rt. 16 near Twin Falls.

However, the environmental impact study will be completed on the W.Va. 16 (at the planned King Coal Highway intersection) to Pineville link, with construction scheduled to begin in 2026.

Earlier this year, Gov. Jim Justice broke ground for a more than 5-mile section of the Coalfields Expressway in McDowell County between Welch and the Rt. 16 intersection with King Coal Highway in Wyoming County.

This almost $150 million section is slated to be finished in 2026 and will be McDowell County's first four-lane highway.

Future contracts are planned for a five-mile stretch from Mullens to Twin Falls State Park and a three-mile stretch from there to Pineville. When the Wyoming County and Welch segments are completed, the Coalfields Expressway will provide 20 miles of four-lane between Welch and Mullens.

The 21-mile segment from Welch to the Virginia state line has not yet been designed.

Designated as U.S. Rt. 121, the Coalfields Expressway will run more than 60 miles from Beckley (I-64/I-77) across Raleigh, Wyoming and McDowellcounties in West Virginia when completed, and then more than 50 miles in Virginia, from Buchanan County through Dickenson counties to Slate, Va., where it intersects with U.S. Rt. 23.

The only section under construction in Virginia is 7 miles in Buchanan County, and part of that overlaps with Rt. 460.

A 2021 report by Chmura Economics & Analytics estimated that the entire Coalfields Expressway would cost $3.1 billion to complete,

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com