WELCH, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has announced millions more dollars to finish construction on the Coalfields Expressway project.
The highway will eventually run from Beckley, West Virginia, to Slate, Virginia, on a route that will travel 105 miles. The portion funded today, May 13, is a five-mile stretch from Welch, in McDowell County, connecting to West Virginia Route16.
The cost of this project is roughly $147 million and will be paid for with “Roads to Prosperity” funds. Completion of the entire highway is expected to make it easier for tourists and businesses to come to the Mountain State.
The Coalfields Expressway brings Southern West Virginia or the world to Southern West Virginia. Not just coal by any stretch of the imagination. There are so many opportunities.
Governor Jim Justice
The original funding from Congress came way back in 1991, and the Coalfields Expressway has been worked on in a very piecemeal fashion. This latest portion of the highway is scheduled to be completed in the Summer of 2026.
The new highway will be four lanes, instead of the current two, and that should make it safer to drive.