A $13.4 million federal funding award has been approved for a major transportation project in Bluefield that will involve the replacement of an aging tunnel and the construction of a new overpass bridge and pedestrian and bicycle walkway.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced the $13,480,000 award Thursday. Capito and Manchin said the funding is through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, which is included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Capito, ranking member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, said the project will construct an overpass bridge and make road improvements on the approach to an intermodal facility. Specifically she said the project will replace an existing one lane, signal-controlled railroad underpass (Old Bramwel Road/County Route 11/”Midway Tunnel”) with an overpass that includes separated pedestrian and bicycle accommodations.
As for the planned intermodal facility component, it is a project that is still in the planning stages and has not yet been funded.
“When we wrote and negotiated the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, I fought to ensure the transportation needs of West Virginia’s rural communities were taken into account," Capito said. "Today’s funding announcement is welcome news and will ultimately help both residents and visitors who are traveling in and around Bluefield and the surrounding area. This is the kind of core infrastructure project we intended the IIJA to support and I’m looking forward to seeing it constructed and completed."
"I’m pleased the DOT is investing more than $13.4 million in constructing a new overpass bridge and making additional road improvements in Mercer County,” Manchin added. “As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for resources to bolster our transportation infrastructure across the Mountain State.”
City officials Thursday applauded the news of the $13.4 million federal funding award.
"It is absolutely phenomenal," City Manager Cecil Marson said. "This is a project a whole group of people have been working on."
Marson said the large-scale transportation project is being made possible with the assistance of the West Virginia Division of Highways, Capito, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Gov. Jim Justice, the Bluefield Board of Directors, various city employees who have worked on the project and the engineering firms E.L. Robinson and Aecon.
"It's just a great win for our area," Marson said. "We are super excited."
The project involves the replacement of the existing Midway Tunnel, an aging tunnel that connects the city with the Midway-Old Bramwell Road section of Bluefield.
Marson said a new bridge overpass will be constructed above the existing tunnel and railroad tracks with separated pedestrian and bicycle accommodations.
"It's a massive project," Marson said. "So it will take some time. It's all tied in with the railroad, and it will be a big project with them. So we look forward to their support and taking care of the city and the railroad."
The existing Midway tunnel is located in close proximity to the Virginia state line, and is utilized by residents of Virginia as well.
There is no current time frame for the start of construction on the project.
"This is a big plan," Marson said. "There will be more to follow with this announcement."