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September 7, 2026 - Officials from Virginia and West Virginia are looking for new ways to work together to advance the long-planned Coalfields Expressway, as both states continue efforts to secure funding and complete sections of the highway through Central Appalachia.
Representatives from the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority, Virginia Department of Transportation and West Virginia Department of Transportation met Aug. 31 in Princeton, West Virginia, to review construction progress in both states and discuss potential opportunities for collaboration.
Virginia Del. Will Morefield and Shane Clem, representing U.S. Sen. Mark Warner's office, also attended the meeting.
The Coalfields Expressway, designated as U.S. Route 121, is envisioned as a limited-access highway connecting the coal-producing regions of Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia to major interstate corridors. The completed route would connect Interstates 64 and 77 in West Virginia with U.S. 460 and ultimately U.S. 23 at Pound, Virginia.
Supporters have long argued that the highway could improve safety and travel times while opening additional opportunities for industrial development, tourism and interstate commerce across a region where mountainous terrain has historically limited transportation options.
Virginia Still Faces 42-Mile Funding Gap
Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority Executive Director Jonathan Belcher told officials that funding shortages and the complexities of coordinating a multistate highway project have been among the biggest obstacles during the expressway's decades-long development.
By next year, about 14 miles of U.S. 121 and U.S. 460 in Buchanan County are expected to have been completed. However, approximately 42 miles of the remaining U.S. 121 corridor in Virginia are currently unfunded, underscoring the scale of the work still required to complete the route.
VDOT currently has the final two miles of the section overlapping Corridor Q under construction between Poplar Creek Road and Grundy. That project, known as Poplar Creek Phase B, is scheduled for completion in late 2027.
Virginia has nevertheless secured several new funding commitments.
A recently announced $1.6 million grant through Virginia's Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program completed the funding package needed to expand a four-mile section of the Route 460 Connector near Breaks Interstate Park to four lanes. Design is expected to begin soon, with construction currently anticipated to start in late 2029.
The state budget also includes $7 million for the expressway, while Virginia Business reported that the project is expected to receive another $3 million in federal funding.
West Virginia Focused on Welch-to-Beckley Corridor
West Virginia officials told their Virginia counterparts that their current construction strategy has largely focused on building the expressway between Welch and Beckley.
Approximately 18 miles of the Coalfields Expressway are now constructed and open between Mullens and the Sophia area near Beckley, according to West Virginia Deputy State Highway Engineer Ed Compton.
Additional projects have been advancing farther south.
West Virginia awarded a $72.5 million contract in October 2025 for another phase near Pineville and Twin Falls State Park. The project includes approximately three miles of expressway mainline along with a 0.52-mile connector improving access to the state park.
Work also has been advancing around Welch in McDowell County, where construction of a five-mile section is expected to provide the county with its first four-lane highway. A connector near Welch Community Hospital is also planned to give motorists access to the new highway.
But a major gap remains between the work around Welch and the Virginia state line.
Compton told officials that the sections needed to connect Virginia with the Welch area are not currently included in West Virginia's upcoming Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, meaning the eventual interstate connection remains a longer-term goal.
Officials Explore Joint Funding Strategy
Much of the Princeton meeting centered on finding ways to overcome that funding challenge.
Both states have essentially been constructing the expressway in pieces as money becomes available.
Belcher said Virginia's progress has relied heavily on individual state appropriations, advocacy from regional lawmakers and congressionally directed spending. Compton said West Virginia has followed a similar approach, advancing individual construction units as funding becomes available.
Compton described the Coalfields Expressway as a "generational project," noting that construction of some portions in West Virginia has been underway for roughly three decades.
Officials also discussed whether additional coal-synergy projects could be used to advance construction. The approach can coordinate highway construction with coal extraction and land reclamation, potentially reducing the enormous cost of moving earth through the mountainous coalfields.
James Keen, a Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority board member and former member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, suggested officials may need to study how statewide transportation funding formulas affect rural communities.
Morefield, meanwhile, said he would investigate whether a federal conduit bond mechanism could provide another potential source of money for the project.
Two-State Federal Grant Could Be Next Step
One of the most significant ideas discussed was for Virginia and West Virginia to jointly pursue federal transportation funding.
The Virginia authority has already been working with members of Congress to have more of the Coalfields Expressway added to the Appalachian Development Highway System.
Only a portion of the route overlapping U.S. 460 currently carries that designation. Legislation has been drafted that would add additional Coalfields Expressway mileage to the system.
Such a designation is important because it could make additional sections of the highway eligible for funding through the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Belcher said he would also examine opportunities for Virginia and West Virginia to partner on federal transportation grant applications, reasoning that a proposal demonstrating benefits across two states could potentially be more competitive than applications submitted independently.
"The benefit of the highway is connection and it makes sense for us to work together," Belcher said.
Long-Term Vision Remains Interstate Connection
Despite decades of delays and billions of dollars still needed to finish the corridor, recent construction has gradually brought the original vision closer to reality.
VDOT's most recent funding strategy estimated the cost of completing Virginia's remaining Coalfields Expressway at approximately $2.5 billion. Sections extending west toward Pound and east from Grundy toward West Virginia remain unfunded, although planning and preliminary engineering continue.
The corridor has also gained significance following completion of Kentucky's U.S. 460 improvements. Kentucky finished its final 17-mile section in Pike County in October 2025, establishing an improved four-lane connection between Pikeville and the Virginia route toward Grundy.
The ultimate goal is a continuous modern highway stretching from I-64 and I-77 in West Virginia through the coalfields of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia to U.S. 23, providing connections into Kentucky and Tennessee.
For officials at the Princeton meeting, completing that vision increasingly means treating the Coalfields Expressway not as separate Virginia and West Virginia projects, but as one regional transportation corridor — and pursuing the funding needed to connect the pieces already being built on both sides of the state line. |
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