Nov. 5 -- bluefield -- A multi-million dollar contract for constructing a new section of the King Coal Highway which will connect more parts of Mercer County with each other was announced Monday during a groundbreaking ceremony on the future roadway's site.
Gov. Jim Justice announced the award of a $58 million contract for the construction of a 2.5-mile stretch of the King Coal Highway connecting Littlesburg to the Mercer County Airport. The contract was awarded to Kanawha Stone Company.
The King Coal Highway is a four-lane highway that will extend approximately 95 miles long through Mercer, McDowell, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties along or near currently existing US 52 from US 119 near Williamson to Interstate 77 in Bluefield. A three-mile section from Airport Road to John Nash Boulevard near Bluefield, which includes the Christine West Bridge, was opened in December 2023.
The new section of interstate corridor will link up Airport Road with the Littlesburg community, near Bluewell and Route 20.
"Years ago, I had a vision for Roads to Prosperity, and it's taken off in ways I never thought possible," Justice said. "The King Coal Highway is one of our most crucial projects because it unlocks the potential for Southern West Virginia. It sat on the sidelines for 30 years until we had a leader who truly believed in our state and the benefits our roads could bring. Today, we're celebrating another big milestone for the King Coal Highway, with even more projects on the way. We're not slowing down or taking a backseat -- West Virginia is on the move, and we're going to keep it rolling."
Construction on the new section of the King Coal Highway from Littlesburg to the airport is expected to start in the spring of 2025. A project worth around $107 million to extend the King Coal Highway from Montcalm to Littlesburg is currently in the planning stage, Justice said.
Local dignitaries joined the governor and highway officials at the future section's site near Airport Road.
"It's a great extension," said County Commissioner Greg Puckett. "I think it's one of those things where a lot of people lost faith over the years and the bridge to nowhere went up against the mountain for so long that everybody thought it was never going to happen and we've seen this part continue. The part to Littlesburg is going to be great. It's going to open up southern West Virginia to new opportunities."
The highway is also expected to boost the area's economic development.
"This is just one more feather in our cap and one more thing to get the ball rolling and keep people employed here and to bring good things to our citizens," Bluefield Mayor Ron Martin said. "That's what all of us want, to have good jobs and keep our young people here and have them proud to be part of the state of West Virginia."
Seven construction firms provided bids for the project at a special bid letting conducted by the WVDOH on Sept. 24.
"The governor had three big priorities when he took office, King Coal, the Coalfields Expressway, and Corridor H, and we've made significant progress on all three," said Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E. "We've also made significant progress in getting through all the bureaucratic hurdles, and there's still more to be done to streamline those processes. We're moving forward on one more section of a road that has languished for decades and decades. It's finally happening, thanks to the governor's big, bold vision. We're ready to build this road. The people in southern West Virginia deserve this road, which will open up the area for business and make travel safer."
Development of the King Coal Highway has been underway since the 1990s, but the project was bogged down for lack of funding before Justice revitalized the project in 2018. A 2-mile section of the King Coal Highway connecting Airport Road to Interstate 77, and a 4-mile section connecting US 119 to Belo north of Williamson are currently open to traffic. About 10 miles between Red Jacket and Mountain View is also open.
The King Coal Highway's development continues. In July 2023, Triton Construction Inc. was awarded a contract for nearly $92 million to extend the existing four-lane highway for about 1.5 miles from Mountain View and create a connector to the town of Gilbert in Mingo County along Gilbert Creek.