Signs for Coalfields Expressway Go Up in Virginia

July 27—Grundy, Va. — Signs installed earlier this week by the Virginia Department of Transportation alert motorists that they are traveling along the first few miles of the state’s Coalfields Expressway.

The signs were installed at the suggestion of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority, which is part of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), to align with similar signs along the Coalfields Expressway in West Virginia, according to an announcement from 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 southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia. The Virginia Coalfields Economic Development Authority provides staff support to the authority’s board.

One of the new signs for Virginia is at the end of the bridge at Grassy, on the Kentucky border, and the other is right where drivers turn left from Route 744 toward Breaks Interstate Park.

“It’s important to let people know that the Coalfields Expressway is now a reality,” said VCEDA Executive Director Jonathan Belcher. “It’s a pretty momentous event in the history of the project.”

Preparations for the new highways have been underway for more than 30 years, but some of them are already being built, he said.

The sections of freeway that have opened include about 3 miles of U.S. 121, making it part of Corridor Q. When that is added to U.S. Route 460, it will be about 8 miles, Belcher said.

Another section of approximately 4 kilometers is expected to open in 2025, and another 4 kilometers is expected to open in 2027. That amounts to another 8 kilometers over the next three years.

Unlike highways built in the past, building new highways today is a much longer and more complicated process, he said. A lot of engineering plans and studies have to be done before the first ground is moved.

The Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority was established in 2017 by the Virginia General Assembly to improve transportation to, from, within and through Southwest Virginia, to support regional economic development, and to generally improve traffic safety in impacted areas of Southwest Virginia.

You can contact the authority online: www.vceda.us/cfxauthority.

Contact Greg Jordan at

[email protected]

Contact Greg Jordan at [email protected]

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