By Mary Catherine Brooks
Wyoming County Bureau Chief
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Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles concerning the infrastructure needs of Wyoming County.
With a new federal prison now sitting on the ridge top separating Wyoming and McDowell counties, the need for improved infrastructure is becoming more urgent.
“We’re going to continue building the Coalfields Expressway,” emphasized Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
Rahall included $900,000 for the construction of the Coalfields Expressway and King Coal Highway interchange in a transportation-housing appropriations bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives recently.
The interchange will be constructed on the ridge top, near the new federal prison known as the Federal Corrections Institution McDowell.
The funding will go toward the construction of a roadway and bridges for the intersection, from Dock Creek to Cedar Run, to assist with mitigating traffic congestion and funding a key infrastructure piece for a modern and safe highway system, Rahall explained.
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Rahall has secured nearly $300 million for the Coalfields Expressway and King Coal Highway, bringing together two of the most important efforts in the state, he said.
Importantly, the interchange will ease access to the Indian Ridge Industrial Park, just across the Wyoming County line, and the new $232 million prison facility, Rahall noted.
The total cost of the interchange is estimated at $40 million, according to state Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming.
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Rahall is hoping the U.S. Congress will pass a new six-year federal transportation bill rather than continue to extend the current bill which expires before the end of the year. A new federal highway bill will include a $44 million request for the Coalfields Expressway, Rahall said.
“That’s the best stimulus money this nation could have,” Rahall said of a new federal transportation bill.
“Every $1 billion in federal highway dollars, when combined with local funds, creates 34,779 jobs — that means that this legislation is an investment in critical transportation and infrastructure needs and job creation at the local, state, and national levels,” Rahall explained.
Federal highway money requires a 20 percent state match, according to officials.
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Currently, the state Division of Highways has about $30 million available for the Coalfields Expressway, money that has come down through federal appropriation bills from U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, prior to his death earlier this year, and Rahall, Browning said.
“We are in the process of building the last section we have money for in Raleigh County,” Browning said. “The remaining dollars, excluding this money, will be used to design the remaining four miles to Rt. 54 in Mullens.
“Our request for the next federal highways bill includes the money to build from the prison down to Rt. 16 — I think nearly $70 million,” Browning noted. “We have requested enough money to complete the road to Mullens, an additional $30 million.”
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At this time, 6.9 miles of the Coalfields Expressway is open to traffic in Raleigh County.
The new road will eventually traverse Wyoming County and will be the first four-lane for both Wyoming and McDowell counties.
Seventeen miles are under design, with 41 miles yet to be designed, according to DOH officials.
Designated as U.S. 121, the new road is now a proposed 112-mile four-lane, with partially controlled access, that is currently set to run from I-64/77 in Beckley to U.S. 23 in Pound, Va., by way of Sophia, Mullens, Pineville, Welch, and Bradshaw in West Virginia.
Browning said the road from Welch to Beckley has been discussed since the early 1960s and became a reality in 1988 when he and then-Del. Rick Staton sponsored a resolution creating the Coalfields Expressway. In 1991, a federal line item of $50 million kicked off the Coalfields Expressway funding. Construction did not begin until 2000, however.
At this time, 6.9 miles of the Coalfields Expressway is open to traffic in Raleigh County.
The new road will eventually traverse Wyoming County and will be the first four-lane for both Wyoming and McDowell counties.
Seventeen miles are under design, with 41 miles yet to be designed, according to DOH officials.
Designated as U.S. 121, the new road is now a proposed 112-mile four-lane, with partially controlled access, that is currently set to run from I-64/77 in Beckley to U.S. 23 in Pound, Va., by way of Sophia, Mullens, Pineville, Welch, and Bradshaw in West Virginia.
Browning said the road from Welch to Beckley has been discussed since the early 1960s and became a reality in 1988 when he and then-Del. Rick Staton sponsored a resolution creating the Coalfields Expressway. In 1991, a federal line item of $50 million kicked off the Coalfields Expressway funding. Construction did not begin until 2000, however.
