BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - An energy project years in the making took a step toward completion in Bluefield, W.Va. Thursday.
Local leaders said a new pipeline extension, set to run four miles through John Nash Blvd. to Bluefield’s Cumberland Industrial Park, could provide hundreds of jobs for the area.
“We believe it’s going to support hundreds of jobs and lead to the creation of hundreds more,” said John O’Neal, Executive Director of the Development Authority of Mercer County.
“Any time we get businesses that look at West Virginia, they want to see certain check lists of things that you need to have in order to entertain moving there,” said Jordan Maynor, Project Consultant for the Development Authority of Mercer County. ”And natural gas is a big component of that.”
The project is said to be a decade in-the-making, with years of behind-the-scenes work to secure $6 million in funding.
“We were able to secure a congressional earmark from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito,” said O’Neal. “Governor justice wanted to help, so they said they could come up with $2 million...and the mercer county commission stepped up and they contributed the final million to get it done.”
As of now, the project is set to begin construction next spring, with 17 to 24 months estimated at the length until completion.