Coalfields Expressway

Mark Lowe posted (source)

🏗️ Massive Bridge Beams Ready for Lift | Coalfield Expressway – Grundy, VA

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"Designated as part of the National Highway System, the new road will link Interstates 64 and 77 in West Virginia with Route 23 in Virginia, which links to interstates in Kentucky and Tennessee. Sections of the route also overlap federally-designated Corridor Q: Route 460, which is currently being constructed/developed." [vdot]

vdot_map

wvva (pdf)
The Coalfield Expressway (US Route 121) posted

I wanted to bring this article from December 2025 back around because there is a lot of information in it that I don’t think received enough attention.

The study found that completing the Coalfields Expressway could reduce some travel times by as much as 40%, while improving freight access, emergency response, access to healthcare, workforce opportunities, tourism and economic development.

But while reading through the information behind this study, I kept coming back to a question:

What about the rest of the Coalfields Expressway?

A lot of the progress we have seen in Virginia has been around Buchanan County and the sections that overlap or connect with US 460/Corridor Q.

There is a reason for that.

Corridor Q is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System and has access to dedicated federal funding that the broader Coalfields Expressway currently does not. VDOT’s own 2025 funding study acknowledges that the shared CFX/Corridor Q sections have advanced more rapidly because of that funding advantage, while much of the remaining CFX is still unfunded.

That explains what has happened.

But I don’t think it means we should lose sight of the original vision.

The Virginia Coalfields Expressway was designed as approximately 50 miles of limited-access highway beginning at US 23 near Pound, traveling through Wise, Dickenson and Buchanan counties, and continuing to the West Virginia state line.

The Pound Connector, Cranes Nest and Doe Branch portions through Wise and Dickenson counties are still part of that plan.

And those sections matter.

Dickenson County does not have the kind of modern four-lane highway access enjoyed by much of Virginia. Improving transportation access through Wise and Dickenson counties wouldn’t simply make it easier to drive somewhere. It could change what is possible for those communities.

When businesses consider where to locate, transportation matters.

When families consider where to live, access matters.

When industries need to move freight, access matters.

When someone needs specialized healthcare, access matters.

And when we talk about reversing population loss and creating opportunities for our children to stay in Southwest Virginia, infrastructure matters.

There is actually some encouraging information in the 2025 funding study.

The study specifically recommends prioritizing high-impact sections of the CFX, including the Pound Connector Alpha Section, and identifies 24 potential funding opportunities that could be explored.

It also recommends pursuing designation of the Coalfields Expressway as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System, which could potentially open the door to funding sources that have helped Corridor Q advance.

That raises an important question worth asking:

If ADHS funding helped move Corridor Q forward, how hard are we pushing to obtain similar eligibility for the rest of the Coalfields Expressway?

Because the goal shouldn’t simply be connecting Virginia to the new US 460 highway Kentucky built.

Kentucky’s investment is valuable. The US 460 improvements between Pikeville and Virginia give our region another connection to US 23 and create opportunities that did not exist before.

But that connection should complement the Coalfields Expressway, not replace the original vision.

And we can’t forget West Virginia either.

This was never supposed to be only a Virginia road.

The completed Coalfields Expressway is intended to create a continuous regional corridor connecting US 23 near Pound through the Virginia coalfields, across southern West Virginia and ultimately to I-64/I-77 near Beckley.

West Virginia has been making slow but real progress too. About 14 miles from Sophia to Mullens are already open. Construction has been underway on another section near Welch, and another section toward Pineville/Twin Falls has moved forward.

There is still a tremendous amount of highway left to build in both states.

That’s exactly why I think we need to keep talking about it.

One of the most common comments I see is:

“We’ll never see the Coalfields Expressway completed in our lifetime.”

Maybe we won’t.

But roads this large aren’t built all at once. They are built a few miles at a time, through different funding programs, different administrations and sometimes over decades.

The question shouldn’t be whether it can all be built tomorrow.

The question should be:

What is the next section, what funding does it need, and what are we doing right now to get it?

The 2025 study identified 24 possible funding opportunities. It recommends pursuing new federal eligibility, combining multiple funding sources, strengthening regional partnerships and continuing advocacy.

Those are things we should be talking about.

I created this page because I want more people in Virginia and West Virginia to understand what the Coalfields Expressway could mean for our communities and to keep attention on the entire project.

I am independent of the Coalfields Expressway Authority, VDOT, WVDOH or any government agency. I’m simply trying to bring more awareness and support to a project that has the potential to open parts of Appalachia that have been geographically and economically isolated for generations.

I appreciate every mile that gets built.

I just don’t want us to forget about all the miles in between.

Pound. Wise County. Dickenson County. Buchanan County. McDowell County. Wyoming County. Raleigh County.

The vision was to connect the Coalfields.

Let’s keep advocating for the whole vision.