Skip to main content

A detailed look at the Coalfields Expressway

Image
By
Returning to the WVDOH maps I received on various projects. This time, a look at the Coalfields Expressway.

Recently, a small segment of the highway opened around Sophia earlier this year.

There are eight segments for the Coalfields Expressway (currently signed as WV 121), running from the Virginia State Line to the I-64/77 interchange south of Beckley.

Here's a look at them running South to North.

Segment 1 - Virginia State Line to Bradshaw (WV 80). Length - 7 miles:

The Coalfields Expressway will roughly follow existing WV 83 from the VA line to WV 80 in Bradshaw.

Segment 2 - Bradshaw (WV 80) to Welch (US 52) - Length - 14 miles:

This segment will parallel WV 83 to near the town of English. From that point, it will run parallel and to the west of WV 16 to US 52 a few miles west of Welch.

Segment 3 - Welch (US 52) to King Coal/Coalfields Interchange (Future I-73/74) - Length - 6 miles:

The Coalfields will run to Welch's west, and cross County Route 7 South and East of Capels. It will meet the King Coal at an already completed interchange that now sits empty.

Segment 4 - King Coal/Coalfields Interchange (Future I-73/74) to Pineville (WV 10/16) - Length - 8 miles:

Coalfields will intersect WV 16 near Wolf Pen. It meets WV 10/16 east of Pineville.

Segment 5 - Pineville (WV 10/16) to Mullens (WV 54) - Length: 7.5 Miles:

This section roughly parallels WV 16 to the north; ending at WV 54 north of Mullens.

Segment 6 - Mullens (WV 54) to Surveyor Road - Length - 10 miles:

This section is shown under construction in the 2006/07 West Virginia Highway Map. (See Below)


Segment 7 - Surveyor Road to Sophia (WV 16/54) - Length - 3 miles:

Parts if not all of this segment have opened for use. This segment is forked as near Sophia a part of the Coalfields branches to the existing five lane (four and center turn lane) WV 16.

Segment 8 - Sophia to I-64/77 Interchange - Length - 3.6 miles:

This segment will run to the current I-64/77 Interchange. This interchange is currently a 'Directional-Y' interchange. I have yet to see the design of what a Coalfields/I-77/I-64 Interchange will look like.
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
WILL WE SEE THIS COMPLETED IN OUR LIFETIME....I'M 60
5:26 PM
Anonymous said…
Hope they buy me out for sure location groundhog in between Bradshaw and Jolo
8:40 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more