West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was in Bluefield on Nov. 4 to help kick off the $58 million construction of a 2.5-mi. stretch of the King Coal Highway, connecting the community of Littlesburg to the Mercer County Airport.

Construction of that section of the four-lane highway is expected to begin next spring. Kanawha Stone Co., in Poca, W. Va., is the general contractor.

At the same event, Justice announced that the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) awarded a building contract to Triton Construction Inc. in St. Albans, W. Va.. for more than $77 million to complete the Kerens to Parsons section of Corridor H/U.S. Highway 48, which includes building the Roaring Run Bridge.

To the south, the entire four-lane King Coal Highway stretches for approximately 95 mi. through McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties, along or near the existing U.S. Highway 52 from U.S. 119 near Williamson to Interstate 77 in Bluefield.

According to Justice's office, the Roads to Prosperity project is helping open southern West Virginia to economic development.

"Years ago, I had a vision for Roads to Prosperity, and it's taken off in ways I never thought possible," the governor 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."

Seven construction firms provided bids for the highway project at a special bid letting conducted by 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," noted state transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston at the King Coal Highway groundbreaking. "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."

Development of the King Coal Highway has been under way since the 1990s, but bogged down for lack of funding before Justice revitalized the project in 2018. A 2-mi. section of the route connecting Airport Road to Interstate 77, a 4-mi. section connecting U.S. 119 to Belo north of Williamson, and a roughly 10-mi. stretch between Red Jacket and Mountain View also are open to traffic.

Additionally, last December, an approximately 3-mi. section from Airport Road to John Nash Boulevard near Bluefield became available for vehicle travel.

Prior to that, Triton Construction was awarded a contract valued at nearly $92 million in July 2023 to extend the existing four-lane highway for about 1.5 mi. from Mountain View and create a connector to the town of Gilbert along Gilbert Creek.

"We're moving forward on one more section of a road that has languished for decades and decades," Wriston added. "The people in southern West Virginia deserve this road, which will open up the area for business and make travel safer."

Justice's office also noted that an approximately $107 million project to extend the King Coal Highway from Montcalm to Littlesburg is currently in the planning stage.

Roaring Run Bridge Will Complete Key Part of Corridor H

Justice described the separate Roaring Run Bridge construction as "another piece of the puzzle for Corridor H" and a "massive milestone" in the state's goal of completing the Kerens to Parsons section of the roadway.

"I've said it over and over again: Corridor H is the most important project for West Virginia," he explained. "Celebrating these days feels amazing, and when we finally say that Corridor H is finished, it will be a historic day for West Virginia."

The stretch of Corridor H between Kerens and Parsons runs through some of the most rugged terrain on the entire route, Justice's office noted in a news release.

According to Wriston, reaching the point where construction can soon commence on the Roaring Run Bridge came after "many late nights of work and after-hour meetings involved in coordinating with our partners at [the Federal Highway Administration], Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Monongahela National Forest, local leaders, our design consultants and residents of the local communities. With this project now being under way, only two sections remain in achieving the ultimate goal of fully completing Corridor H."

When Justice became governor in 2017, he made completing Corridor H a priority of his administration. The four-lane highway begins at Weston and travels across central West Virginia to eventually link up with I-81 in Strasburg, Va.

The highway is expected to open some of West Virginia's most remote areas in Grant, Tucker, and Hardy counties to economic development, connect the state's highlands with eastern ports, speed travel times through the mountains, and provide a smooth, safe highway for travelers and residents.

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