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[rickmastfan67]

I split this off from the Corridor H thread before that possibly became a Coalfields Expressway Thread.  -Mark

And I just merged it into the main Coalfields Expressway thread.

[sbeaver44]

My understanding is that Q (460) will join the Coalfields (121) for a short concurrency heading generally northeast before Q splits off to join the four-lane at Grundy.

Where is this industrial park? I need to check it out sometime.

There is a four-lane pretty much all the way from Beckley to Pikeville, but you have to go through Princeton, Tazewell, and Richlands, and Grundy on 460, so it's not direct.

It is SW of Grundy off Southern Gap Rd

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/37.2294/-82.1577

[seicer]

Roll sheet for the Coalfields Expressway's newest 8 mile segment to be built from Mullens to Pineville: https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/CoalfieldsExpresswayMullinstoPineville/Documents/2022-08-23_PublicMeetingRoll--ML.pdf

- Cabin Creek Road will be severed with a giant fill. There will be a new connector along CR 10/13 from the Coalfields Expressway to Twin Falls State Park.
- There will be an intersection with WV 10/16 at Pineville.
- A second connector road (2 lanes, not 4 as originally proposed) to Mullens will be built. I'm not sure why as there is one on the opposite side of the bridge over Slab Fork (https://goo.gl/maps/9rHtYS4VRZEcNUzSA).

Roll sheet for the nearly 3 mile Twin Falls Connector: https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/CoalfieldsExpresswayMullinstoPineville/Documents/2022-08-23_PublicMeetingRoll-TF.pdf
- This will replace a very narrow road with one-lane bridges with a modern two-lane route feeding into the state park. It is presumed that this will be the new primary entrance from the park so it will be expected to serve RVs.

--

https://transportation.wv.gov/highways/engineering/comment/CoalfieldsExpresswayMullinstoPineville/Documents/WVDOT_Coalfields_Public_Meeting_Boards_WEB.pdf

A 7 mile segment from Pineville to a WV 16 connector will be built afterward, followed by a 5 mile segment from the WV 16 connector to CR 7 near Welch.

[hbelkins]

- A second connector road (2 lanes, not 4 as originally proposed) to Mullens will be built. I'm not sure why as there is one on the opposite side of the bridge over Slab Fork (https://goo.gl/maps/9rHtYS4VRZEcNUzSA).

Maybe it won't be as steep as the existing one. That's been one complaint I've seen several people make; that the connector is steep and curvy and would be hard to keep cleared in winter.

[Bitmapped]

- A second connector road (2 lanes, not 4 as originally proposed) to Mullens will be built. I'm not sure why as there is one on the opposite side of the bridge over Slab Fork (https://goo.gl/maps/9rHtYS4VRZEcNUzSA).

I believe the existing connector is signed for an 11% grade. Corridor H has some connectors in that range, but they're more open so the light can get to them in the winter to help with snow/ice removal. The Mullens connector is twistier and largely in the shadows.

I'll be curious if WVDOH keeps the existing connector open or abandons it. When they were building the King Coal Highway segment that is open in Mingo County, WVDOH went to a lot of expense to build CR 252/58 as a temporary connector from old US 52 to the new route only to abandon it a year or two later when the WV 44 extension was finished. The Mullens Connector was built of concrete, so maybe they intend to keep it?

[seicer]

Where is/was CR 252/58?

[Tom958]

- A second connector road (2 lanes, not 4 as originally proposed) to Mullens will be built. I'm not sure why as there is one on the opposite side of the bridge over Slab Fork (https://goo.gl/maps/9rHtYS4VRZEcNUzSA).

Maybe it won't be as steep as the existing one. That's been one complaint I've seen several people make; that the connector is steep and curvy and would be hard to keep cleared in winter.

It's not even half as long as the existing one. It looks like it must be even steeper! Maybe it's to be built for construction access and preserved for later use.

[Bitmapped]

Where is/was CR 252/58?

About 1/4 mile west of WV 44. It now dead ends near King Coal ROW. It is visible on Google Maps.

[rickmastfan67]

Seems WVDOT finally 'officially' rerouted US-52 onto the King Coal Highway.  New StreetView as of Aug '22 shows it on the WV-44 connector now.

https://goo.gl/maps/xRj3hL453uPheZuy7

Strange thing is, that's the only new StreetView there that shows the change, as the closer you get to the intersection, it defaults back to '16 imagery.

[seicer]

The 2015 streetview shows US 52 signed on that new alignment, too. Despite the length of those connectors, the new route is faster than the previous, and one can easily keep it at 65 MPH without any problem (unexpected dips and faults notwithstanding).

[hbelkins]

Where is/was CR 252/58?

About 1/4 mile west of WV 44. It now dead ends near King Coal ROW. It is visible on Google Maps.

By the time I got up there to drive the route, the WV 44 extension was already open. I don't remember the CR being used as the connector.

I haven't been out that way to see if US 52 is signed off the WV 65 and WV 44 intersections or not. Last time I was up there, the new route was signed as US 52 but signage on the old US 52 still indicated it used the old route.

[Alps]

Where is/was CR 252/58?

About 1/4 mile west of WV 44. It now dead ends near King Coal ROW. It is visible on Google Maps.

By the time I got up there to drive the route, the WV 44 extension was already open. I don't remember the CR being used as the connector.

I haven't been out that way to see if US 52 is signed off the WV 65 and WV 44 intersections or not. Last time I was up there, the new route was signed as US 52 but signage on the old US 52 still indicated it used the old route.

Exactly - 52 I believe still DOES follow the old route, but yet the signs.

[Bitmapped]

Where is/was CR 252/58?

About 1/4 mile west of WV 44. It now dead ends near King Coal ROW. It is visible on Google Maps.

By the time I got up there to drive the route, the WV 44 extension was already open. I don't remember the CR being used as the connector.

It was only used for a year or two. The asphalt is still there but it appears the road itself has been abandoned off the state system.

Exactly - 52 I believe still DOES follow the old route, but yet the signs.

Nope. The old route has officially been CR 252/57 since at least 2014. WVDOH moved the US 52 designation to the King Coal Highway at that time in its records. You can look at the 2014 Mingo County map on transportation.wv.gov to see this.

My recollection is that the signed route of US 52 was moved onto the King Coal Highway briefly when it first opened and that it was returned to the original route after a while, but I can't find photographic evidence to prove it. The old route is shorter and doesn't require turns to follow, so there was some logic to just keeping US 52 on it. I don't know why WVDOH would have changed their minds at this point and moved it (back) to the King Coal Highway. Perhaps the indefinite delay of plans to complete an extension of the King Coal Highway east of the existing segment made WVDOH decide it was time to just claim victory and move on.

[rickmastfan67]

What I really want to know is, is there now a small 'spur' of WV-44 below US-52, since it was signed south of it back in '16.  https://goo.gl/maps/EbN1wxDfAho2nwKBA

That's something that is kinda holding me up from putting this new change into TM.

Just hoping Google updates the rest of StreetView in that area to the new 2022 imagery soon to solve this question (unless somebody else field checks it first).

[Bitmapped]

What I really want to know is, is there now a small 'spur' of WV-44 below US-52, since it was signed south of it back in '16.  https://goo.gl/maps/EbN1wxDfAho2nwKBA

The stub is on WVDOH's inventory as WV 44. I don't know if it is signed any longer - based on the Street View photos at US 52, my guess is no. There's really no reason for it to be signed as WV 44 when one of the adjacent county routes could be extended over it.

[rickmastfan67]

What I really want to know is, is there now a small 'spur' of WV-44 below US-52, since it was signed south of it back in '16.  https://goo.gl/maps/EbN1wxDfAho2nwKBA

The stub is on WVDOH's inventory as WV 44. I don't know if it is signed any longer - based on the Street View photos at US 52, my guess is no. There's really no reason for it to be signed as WV 44 when one of the adjacent county routes could be extended over it.

Well, since it was signed previously, I have to wait till I have proof it isn't anymore sadly.  Especially since you said it's still listed as WV-44 in the WVDOH inventory.

I'm betting it is (but want proof), and WV-44 will once again be fully signed along the connector when US-52 is extended on King Coal once again in the future.

[Dirt Roads]

What I really want to know is, is there now a small 'spur' of WV-44 below US-52, since it was signed south of it back in '16.  https://goo.gl/maps/EbN1wxDfAho2nwKBA

The stub is on WVDOH's inventory as WV 44. I don't know if it is signed any longer - based on the Street View photos at US 52, my guess is no. There's really no reason for it to be signed as WV 44 when one of the adjacent county routes could be extended over it.

WVDOH is not completely opposed to signing an entire "road" as a state route (or US route) beyond its logical conclusion.  For instance, WV-279 continues past I-79 and beyond LSR-707 to the FBI Center, plus US-35 is signed beyond I-64 to Teays Valley Road (CR-33).

[Mapmikey]

Technically the piece south of I-64 is US 35 SPUR.