The award of an additional $2 million in federal funding for the King Coal Highway in Mercer County by U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is welcomed.
The funding was included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which passed the Senate Thursday by a vote of 73-25. It also allocates an additional $2 million for the construction of a section of the Coalfields Expressway extending from Allen Creek to Slab Fork in southern West Virginia.
Byrd has specifically requested that the additional $2 million earmarked for the King Coal Highway be used in Mercer County for a continuation of the new four-lane interstate corridor.
We applaud Byrd for his continuing support of both the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway. Every federal appropriation secured for our two southern West Virginia highway projects helps.
Byrd, who also secured an additional $4.5 million for the Corridor H project stretching from I-79 at Weston to the Virginia state line, said the highway projects are an integral component of efforts to create jobs, reduce traffic, make travel safer, and spur economic development and tourism opportunities for local communities.
The $2 million appropriation by Byrd helps to get the King Coal Highway another small step closer toward Route 123 and the Mercer County Airport. The state also is expected to provide a 20 percent match to the federal award.
It is our hope that additional federal funds — as well as possible stimulus dollars — can be earmarked toward both projects soon.
The state Division of Highways is requesting $66.9 million from the second round of federal stimulus transportation dollars to continue the construction of the King Coal Highway in Bluefield to the Mercer County Airport. The DOH is hoping to build a 2.16 mile section of the King Coal Highway in Mercer County connecting and creating a usable segment of the four-lane corridor with the existing K.A. Ammar Interchange and the new $16 million bridge near Stoney Ridge and Bluefield.
The DOH also is seeking $28.4 million from the second round of federal stimulus dollars to build an interchange of the Coalfields Expressway and the King Coal Highway near the new $232 million federal prison at the Indian Ridge Industrial Park in Welch.
Furthermore, U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., has requested $60 million in the Fiscal Year 2010 Surface Transportation Project bill to continue construction of the King Coal Highway in Bluefield to the Mercer County Airport. Rahall also is requesting $44 million for the interchange of the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway in Welch.
Both projects are critical to our region’s future, and can help with job creation and retention.
A recently completed economic impact study by Chmura Economics and Analytics of Richmond concluded that the completion of the King Coal/Tolsia Highway in southern West Virginia could help sustain 2,020 jobs with an annual economic impact of $220.3 million. The study also found that the new King Coal Highway and Tolsia Highway corridors will provide $23.6 million in annual cost savings for current businesses located along the highway as a result of improved travel efficiency.
The study also noted that the construction of the remaining segments of the King Coal Highway would create a one-time economic impact of $2.8 million. It also found that the construction and ongoing existence of the King Coal Highway will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the I-73 corridor and provide jobs in construction, retail, service and warehouse industries.
While no additional federal funds are guaranteed, it is our hope that local, state and federal officials will continue their fight for both the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway in southern West Virginia.
Every new dollar earmarked for the roadways will help pave the way for future completion of these vital infrastructure projects.