Timber Cleared, Construction To Begin On King Coal Highway

There’s been some significant progress on an important section of the King Coal Highway in southern West Virginia. The future road may bring economic growth to a largely desolate area.

Roughly 150 acres of timber have now been cleared to make way for a new, two-and-a-half mile section of the King Coal Highway in Bluefield. The road travels through McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wyoming and Wayne counties along the currently existing US Route 52.

“In southern West Virginia, there are two main corridors that we’re trying to get constructed, the King Coal Expressway and the Coalfields Expressway,” said Department of Transportation District Engineer Ryland Musick. 

“The King Coal Highway runs from Bluefield there at John Nash Boulevard to Williamson, West Virginia. Coalfields run from Beckley down through Raleigh, Wyoming and McDowell counties, down to the state line near Pound, Virginia.” 

When completed, developers hope the new, four-lane highway will bring new opportunities to the southern-most areas of West Virginia.

“In southern West Virginia, there’s not a lot of four lane facilities. There’s not a lot of people coming in. We all know that infrastructure, and what I’m going to call real infrastructure, brings more opportunities,” Musick said.

“The hope is that those areas in southern West Virginia will be opened up to opportunities, to where they can grow economically and actually promote growth and goodness there. I mean, that’s what these roads are always about.”

Construction is expected to begin by August once two environmental permits from the Army Corps of Engineers come in. Musick suggests the section will open in 2027.