User:Djamaliyev64/Interstate 73 in West Virginia
.svg) Future Interstate 73 | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Maintained by WVDOH | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| Highway system | |
construction began in 1999 on the three-level diamond interchange on Indian Ridge near Welch that will facilitate traffic between the King Coal Highway (US 52, Interstate 73/74) and the Coalfields Expressway (US 121).
Initial site work was completed in 2003, with grading evident; this required the filling in of a large valley. It will also be the site of a new state prison along with future industrial development.
Work has progressed on the four-lane widening of US 52 in Mercer County just east of Bluefield. On November 24, a contract totaling $2,057,914 was let to move approximately 500,000 cubic yards (380,000 m3) of dirt and to grade and drain .22 miles from the recently completed $27 million interchange with Corridor Q (US 460) east of Bluefield to US 19 just north of James P. Bailey Lake. Six buildings will be demolished. This is the first of several projects that will extend the King Coal Highway to West Virginia Route 123 (Airport Road) north of Bluefield. Extending this project east, another contract was awarded December 15 and totals $1,371,251. The contract calls for more than 200,000 cubic yards (150,000 m3) of excavation to grade and drain .18 mile of the King Coal Highway from county route 25 just north of the US 460 interchange to south of the old Raleigh-Grayson Turnpike. 36 buildings will be demolished. A future contract will include a bridge over US 19 which will cost $15 million.[1][2]
Design work is being commenced on a 11-mile (18 km) segment of the King Coal Highway from Horsepen Mountain to Isaban and from the Mercer County Interchange to West Virginia Route 123/Airport Road. The work being done on a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) section of highway near Horsepen Mountain is being done by mining companies that will save taxpayers over $20 million.[citation needed]
The future of the project as a whole is very uncertain. In 2017, state lawmakers eliminated funding for the King Coal Highway Authority and its executive director as well as the Coalfields Expressway Authority. Both authorities were later shut down and local officials have been pushing for state lawmakers to reprioritize the construction of the King Coal Highway ever since.[3] In June 2023, the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) announced that bids were let for the construction of the highway near Gilbert.[4] In August of the same year, design work began to extend the highway from its current construction at Airport Road in Bluefield northward towards Littlesburg Road.[5] However, the state still has not made the King Coal Highway one of its top priorities and doubt about whether the highway will ever be completed remains.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ West Virginia Department of Transportation (December 18, 2003). "DOH Awards King Coal Highway Contract" (Press release). West Virginia Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on February 2, 2004. Retrieved December 24, 2003.
- ^ "Contract Allows More King Coal Highway Construction". Bluefield Daily Telegram. December 20, 2003. Retrieved December 24, 2003.
- ^ Owens, Charles (April 1, 2023). "Officials urge state, federal support for King Coal Highway project". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ Owens, Charles (June 21, 2023). "Section of the King Coal Highway advertised for construction". Yahoo! News. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ Owens, Charles (August 12, 2023). "Design work underway on new section of the King Coal Highway near Bluefield". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- ^ "King Coal Highway: Lawmakers need to get serious about vital corridor". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. April 22, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.