Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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July 20, 2011

Coalfield Expressway in Va. — Project on road to completion

CHARLES OWENS Bluefield Daily Telegraph

GRUNDY, Va. — The Coalfields Expressway is another step closer toward completion in Southwest Virginia.

A ceremony was held Tuesday morning at the Poplar Gap Park to commemorate the completion of the first section of the rough-grade road bed for the Hawks Nest segment of the Coalfields Expressway, also known as Route 121, in Buchanan County. Representatives of the Virginia Department of Transportation, Alpha Natural Resources and other local officials were on hand for the celebration.

“VDOT’s partnership with Alpha Natural Resources has created an opportunity to stimulate economic development and improve the transportation network for this region at a much lower cost than traditional highway construction methods,” VDOT Bristol District Manager Michael Russell said in a prepared statement.

The rough grade road bed will be paved by VDOT after phases I and II of the related Route 460 Connector Project are completed, VDOT spokeswoman Michelle Earl said.

“It’s definitely worthwhile today to see an actual roadbed,” Earl said. “It is closer to being a reality today. That is what is making it a good day. It’s definitely a good day for transportation.”

Alpha Natural Resources constructed the non-paved road bed at a cost of $10 million, a savings to VDOT of more than $90 million by coordinating the road bed development on mountainous terrain as part of an active surface mining operation.

“The bottom line is without Alpha Natural Resources we couldn’t have done it,” Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Russell, said. “They made it happen and they are committed to helping us in the future.”

VDOT signed an agreement with Alpha Natural Resources in the fall of 2008 for the design and construction of the rough grade road bed for the Hawks Nest portion of the future four-lane corridor.

When completed in Southwest Virginia, the expressway will extend 51 miles through Buchanan, Pound and Dickenson counties. It will link with intestates 64 and 77 in neighboring West Virginia where the future four-lane corridor will extend another 65 miles through McDowell, Wyoming and Raleigh counties.

Construction should begin soon on additional segments of the Coalfields Expressway in Southwest Virginia. VDOT’s 2012-2017 six-year transportation improvement plan fully funds two additional segments of the roadway — the Doe Branch segment and Pound Connector.

The Doe Branch section ties into the Route 460 Connector Phase II and Hawks Nest segment in Buchanan County and travels west to Route 80 in the Haysi area of Dickenson County for about 4.8 miles. The cost estimate for the project is $81.5 million, including preliminary engineering and construction, according to Earl.

The Pound Connector will extend another 6.8 miles in length and begins at Route 23 in the Pound area of Wise County and extends into Dickenson County where it will connect to Route 83 via a connector road, according to VDOT. The cost estimate for the third segment is approximately $140 million, and includes preliminary engineering and construction.

Construction on the Route 460-Connector Phase 1 Project also began earlier this year in Buchanan County. The Route 460 Connector Phase I includes design and construction of twin high-level 250-foot-high bridges. When completed, the twin bridges will be the tallest in Virginia. Phase II of the Route 460 Connector will tie into the Coalfields Expressway at Hawks Nest. VDOT is currently reviewing an unsolicited coal synergy proposal for phase II of the connector.

Earl said the total state and federal funding infrastructure investment to date in Buchanan County has topped $500 million.

“When you take into consideration phase two, Hawk’s Nest, Doe Branch and the Route 460 Connector, it’s nearly a half billion dollar investment that’s underway,” she said. “That’s a big investment in infrastructure for Southwest Virginia.”

Puckett said state officials have been working on the Coalfields Expressway in Southwest Virginia for 13 years now.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

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