PRESS - Coalfields Expressway - West Virginia Department of Transportation

https://www.bdtonline.com/news/construction-begins-on-the-coalfields-expressway-in-mcdowell-county/article_5a5e656c-11bb-11ed-89ba-47e94ed16b99.html - Construction on the Coalfields Expressway in McDowell County is now underway. Gov. Jim Justice joined West Virginia Department of Transportation officials Tuesday for a ground-breaking ceremony on the project, which will link the new four-lane corridor with the city of Welch. "The Coalfields Expressway has been in the making for 30-plus years now," Justice said. "It should have been done a long time ago; before I even walked in the door as governor. But now, we're making it happen. We're getting this done for the people of southern West Virginia. I believe in southern West Virginia with all my heart. It's home to me. And I believe in how much the Coalfields Expressway means to this area. Today is another big step toward us running across the finish line." The $147.6 million project - which is part of the Governor's Roads To Prosperity program - will be completed by Bizzack Construction of Lexington, Ky. Justice announced the bid award for the project in May of this year. Roadwork involves building a 5.12-mile section of highway from Welch to W.Va. 16, connecting the southern West Virginia city of Welch with the Coalfields Expressway, the governor's office said. The project includes the construction of two ramps, two bridges, and will require more than 16 million yards of excavation. More than 10,000 feet of large diameter drainage pipe will also be put in place for the project. "Gov. Justice is the man with the vision, through his Roads To Prosperity program that is allowing projects like this all over the state to be completed," WVDOT Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., said. "This groundbreaking marks a wonderful, wonderful day for McDowell County. This is the lynchpin project. This is the one. This is when the drum starts beating toward the end of the project to when we get the Coalfields Expressway done once and for all." The project is expected to be complete in the summer of 2026. Future plans are also in the works to build a five-mile stretch of the Coalfields Expressway from Mullens to Twin Falls State Park, and a three-mile link from Twin Falls toward Pineville, the governor's office said. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.thecentersquare.com/west_virginia/justice-announces-147-million-west-virginia-road-project/article_503cb260-d619-11ec-a9fd-9f8d5bb90798.html - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced nearly $150 million in funding for a road project in the Southern part of the state, which will be funded through the Roads To Prosperity program. Per the governor's plan, the state will construct a 5.12-mile-long highway to connect the city of Welch to the Coalfields Expressway. The expressway runs through southwestern Virginia and the southern part of West Virginia. Justice approved a bid from Bizzack Construction of Lexington, Kentucky, which will cost the state $147.6 million. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026. "This announcement today means we are one step closer to bringing this area of West Virginia to the world once and for all," the governor said in a statement. "We have waited and waited in southern West Virginia for way too long. From what I understand, this section right here is a linchpin section and then the sections beyond that will move even faster." The project requires more than 16 million yards of excavation and the construction of two ramps and two bridges, according to the governor's office. The state will also construct 10,000 feet of large diameter drainage pipe for the project. "A lot of people start things, the governor is a guy that finishes things," State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston said in a statement. "This is another step along the way to the finish," Wriston continued. "This has been a long time coming. This is the beginning of the end of getting this done. ...We're doing everything we can to execute the governor's vision. I drove around McDowell County today. The roads in McDowell County are as good as anywhere in the state now and they're getting better every day." The project is part of a broader plan to connect West Virginia Turnpike at Beckley with the US 23 at Slate, Virginia. According to the governor's office, the plan would open southern coalfields to economic ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Gov-Justice-announces-plans-for-new-expressway-17173213.php Gov. Jim Justice visited the site of a planned $147 million highway project that will connect Welch to the Coalfields Expressway. The five-mile stretch of highway is expected to be completed in 2026. "This announcement today means we are one step closer to bringing this area of West Virginia to the world once and for all," Justice said in a media release. "We have waited and waited in southern West Virginia for way too long." Justice announced Friday that Bizzack Construction of Lexington, Kentucky, won the bid to build the new highway. The governor's office said plans are in the works to build a five-mile stretch of the Coalfields Expressway from Mullens to Twin Falls State Park, and a three-mile link from Twin Falls toward Pineville. The four-lane Coalfields Expressway that runs from Raleigh County to Wyoming County opened in 2020. ____________________________________________________________________ There's a national political battle over an infrastructure bill, but West Virginia's transportation secretary says the state urgently needs the money and support. "With the advent of the infrastructure bill that we're awaiting the president's signature, tomorrow actually, I hope that we can take our three biggest priorities -- Corridor H, Coalfield highway and King Coal Highway -- and move that ball to unbelievable limits," Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston told legislators Sunday evening. The Coalfields Expressway, or U.S. 121, is a multi-lane highway connecting the West Virginia Turnpike at Beckley with U.S. 23 at Slate, Va.

Division 32 -	Exterior Improvements, Operation and Maintenance of Exterior Improvements.
Division 34 -	Transportation, Operation and Maintenance of Transportation.