Jul. 27—grundy, va. — Highway signs erected earlier this week by the Virginia Department of Transportation is letting motorists know that they are driving along the Commonwealth’s first miles of the Coalfields Expressway.
The signs were installed at the suggestion of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority, which is staffed by the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), to match similar signage found along the Coalfields Expressway in West Virginia, according to an announcement by the authority issued Friday.
The Coalfields Expressway, designated as U.S. Route 121 and a Congressional High Priority Corridor, is a proposed limited-access highway to provide a modern, safe and efficient transportation artery through the coalfields region of far Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. The Virginia Coalfields Economic Development Authority provides staff support to the authority board.
One of the new Virginia signs is at the end of the bridge at Grassy at the Kentucky state line and the other one is just as drivers turn left off of Route 744 going toward the Breaks Interstate Park.
“It’s important to let people know that the Coalfields Expressway is a reality now,” said Executive Director Jonathan Belcher of VCEDA. “It’s a pretty momentous occasion for the history of the project.”
Preparations for the new highways have been going on for over 30 years, but sections of it are now being constructed, he said.
Highway sections that have opened include about 3 miles on US 121, making it part of Corridor Q. When added to U.S. Route 460, it comes to about 8 miles, Belcher said.
Another section abut 2.5 miles is scheduled to open in 2025 with another 2.5 mile section expected to open by 2027. This amounts to another 5 miles over the next three years.
Unlike highways built in the past, getting today’s new highways constructed is a much longer and more complicated process, he said. Many engineering plans and studies must be done before the first dirt is moved.
The Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority was formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017 to improve the transportation into, from, within and through Southwest Virginia; to assist in regional economic development; and to generally enhance highway safety in the affected localities of Southwest Virginia.
The authority can be contact on the internet at www.vceda.us/cfxauthority.
Contact Greg Jordan at
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
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