Section of the King Coal Highway advertised for construction

Jun. 20—Another section of the King Coal Highway project has been advertised for construction, but it is not located in Mercer County.

The West Virginia Department of Highways announced last week that bids were let for a 1.5 mile section of the King Coal Highway in Mingo County. The DOH said in a news release that the project will extend the existing four-lane and create a connector to the town of Gilbert along Gilbert Creek. It is being funded through Gov. Jim Justice's Roads to Prosperity program.

While the contract creates another section of the King Coal Highway project in southern West Virginia, it doesn't allow for a continuation of the project near Bluefield. Work on the existing $58 million King Coal Highway contract along Airport Road in Mercer County is nearing a completion, and so far no design or construction contracts have been announced for another section of the new four-lane corridor near Bluefield.

The King Coal Highway is the region's local segment of the future Interstate 73/74/75 routing. It will extend 95 miles through Mercer, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties when finished. The highway will connect U.S. 119 near Williamson to Interstate 77 in Bluefield, and is intended to open up the Mountain State's coalfields to economic development and connect the region with markets to the north and south, the DOH news release announcing the bid letting said.

The final interstate routing is supposed to run from Detroit, Mich. to Myrtle Beach, S.C., opening up a large swath of southern West Virginia to interstate access.

During a recent administration briefing, Gov. Jim Justice identified Corridor H. and the Coalfields Expressway projects as his top two transportation priorities for the state. He didn't mention the King Coal Highway.

Some in the region often confuse the Coalfields Expressway with the King Coal Highway. But it is a different project. The Coalfields Expressway is a new four-lane corridor which when completed will extend from Welch in McDowell County to Beckley in Raleigh County.

In addition to the King Coal Highway contract, other regional bids that were let by the DOH last week include:

—Vermillion Street traffic signal, Athens. (Mercer County)

—Beaver to South Eisenhower Drive construction. (Raleigh County)

The DOH said several factors are considered before awarding a bid, including whether a bid falls above or below the DOH engineer's estimate and by what percentage.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens