A federal funding allocation of $25 million is being made available to assist with the ongoing construction of the Coalfields Expressway project in southern West Virginia. This is a welcomed, but long overdue, development.
The funding was announced just before Christmas by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. The two lawmakers said the $25 million funding award is a federal earmark coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The federal funding will be used to assist with work on a stretch of the new four-lane corridor along Route 16 in Wyoming County.
Route 16 also extends into McDowell County, where construction got underway earlier this year on another section of the Coalfields Expressway along Indian Ridge, in the city of Welch.
The future four-lane corridor will extend through McDowell, Wyoming and Raleigh counties in West Virginia before connecting with neighboring Virginia in Buchanan County.
“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 a ranking member of the committee, said in an earlier report. “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. “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.”
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, according to the two lawmakers.
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 on a more than five-mile section of the Coalfields Expressway in McDowell County between Welch and the Wyoming County line. That almost $150 million section of the roadway is slated to be finished in 2026 and will be McDowell County’s first four-lane highway.
The $25 million federal earmark announced earlier this month is long-overdue and will help in advancing the roadway.
The Coalfields Expressway is a prime example of the type of real infrastructure that should be prioritized by Washington lawmakers, particularly in the new bipartisan infrastructure bill.