Federal dollars will allow for additional work on the Coalfields Expressway

Sep 25, 2023

By Mary Catherine Brooks

CNHI News W.Va.

Federal funding for the Coalfields Expressway was included in $18.9 million directed toward eight West Virginia highway projects.

The awards include $1.5 million for the Coalfields Expressway for pavement of approximately a quarter-mile section.

Another $5 million will go to the King Coal Highway for the Gilbert Creek Connector to connect the community of Gilbert, which has battled transportation connectivity and reliability issues for decades, according to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

Manchin and U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., secured the funding for the road projects with Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

King Coal is part of the I-73 Corridor and will run from Detroit to Myrtle Beach. The highway will span 95 miles across Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, and Wayne counties.

King Coal will intersect with the Coalfields Expressway at W.Va. Rt. 16 in Wyoming County.

Upcoming Coalfields Expressway projects include a five-mile stretch of the new highway from Mullens in Wyoming to Twin Falls Resort State Park and a three-mile link from Twin Falls toward Pineville. Construction also is continuing on a five-mile stretch of the Coalfields Expressway near Welch in McDowell County.

Environmental impact studies on the projects are now underway or have been completed, according to officials.

Pending funding availability, it will likely be 2027 before motorists are driving on the new eight miles of the four-lane.

This year, the environmental impact study will be completed on the link that will take the Coalfields Expressway from W.Va. Rt. 16 to Pineville, with construction scheduled to begin in 2026.

The Coalfields Expressway opened in Mullens on Oct. 1, 2020 – 31 years after the project was first launched with a legislative resolution. It was Wyoming County's first four-lane road.

The Mullens link was extended from the 6.9-mile Sophia to Slab Fork section in Raleigh County, which opened to the public in 2009.

It took nearly a dozen more years for the new four-lane to reach Wyoming County.

Gov. Jim Justice broke ground Aug. 1 on the 5.12-mile section from Indian Ridge, the border between McDowell and Wyoming counties, to W.Va. Rt. 16. The section is expected to be completed in 2026 and will be McDowell County's first four-lane.

In 2001, a 1.5-mile section of unpaved, graded four-lane was constructed near what would become the site of FCI (Federal Correctional Institution) McDowell on Indian Ridge, four miles north of Welch.

While the FCI opened in 2010, the unpaved four-lane section was forgotten until Gov. Justice broke ground on the same site in August.

Right-of-way is currently being obtained for the Welch to W.Va. 16 stretch.

Designated as U.S. Rt. 121, the Coalfields Expressway will traverse 62 miles across Wyoming, McDowell, and Raleigh counties in West Virginia when completed, and another 51 miles in Virginia, from Pound, in Wise County, through Dickenson and Buchanan counties.

Once all planned sections of the Coalfields Expressway are completed, the limited-access, multi-lane highway will connect the West Virginia Turnpike at Beckley with U.S. 23 at Slate, Va.

"West Virginia's infrastructure plays a critical role in our state's economy, which is why improving, modernizing, and expanding our roads, bridges and highways continues to be one of my top priorities," Manchin said.

"I proudly secured this funding to support eight critical highway projects across our great state, which will boost local tourism, spur economic development and promote safe and secure travel for all West Virginians.

"As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources, including CDS funding, to improve our roads and bridges as we address the infrastructure needs of the Mountain State," he said.

"Moving West Virginia forward means investing in our roads and highways, and it's exactly why I requested this funding for eight key projects across our state," Capito said.

"Advancing these projects closer to completion impacts nearly every corner of West Virginia, and will create jobs, grow our local economies, and improve transportation for residents and visitors alike.

"I’ll continue to deliver needed resources for our state's core infrastructure, and look forward to seeing the tangible benefits of these significant funding awards announced today," she said.

Congressionally Directed Spending, also known as earmarks, allow state and local governments, non-profits, and other public entities to apply for targeted funding for projects to bolster their communities and directly support West Virginians.

Additional awards included in the funding include the following:

• $5,000,000 to complete Corridor H.

• $2,000,000 to repair and rehabilitate I-79 Exit 155, which serves as the primary vehicular connection from Interstate-79 and Morgantown, Star City, Granville and West Virginia University.

• $1,750,000 to constructs the new Appalachian Heartland Welcome Center at the interchange of Interstate-64 and WV State Route-152 at Exit 8 in Huntington.

• $1,500,000 to construct a new roadway from West Virginia State Route 2 to access Weirton's Frontier Crossing project, a newly developed brownfield area at the former Weirton Steel site.

• $1,400,000 to complete construction on the 1.9-mile Augustine Trail pedestrian and bicycle trail facility on Old Route 340 (also known as Augustine Avenue) and upgrades approximately 8,000 linear feet of sidewalks in the downtown area for better connectivity and access in Charles Town.

• $730,000 to fund the design and feasibility study for phase one of a new, second interchange at Interstate-70 in Ohio County.

2:00 p.m., Graveside service at Oakwood Cemetery in Princeton.

1:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Memorial Funeral Directory in Princeton. Entombment will follow in Roselawn Memorial Gardens in Princeton.

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