King Coal / Tolsia Highway (US 52)

[seicer]

The following has imagery from 2020 that shows the entire length, but that's the most recent I can find: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html (can't figure out a way to make a more specific link)

[Strider]

Openstreetmap website shows the "under construction" part as well as what the interchange with WV 123 will look like. You have to type in the town name "Bluefield, WV" to find it.

[hbelkins]

Saw a photo yesterday of the unknown West Virginia state route marker to designate the temporary number for the King Coal extension at Bluefield. The mystery number is ... WV 108.

[Mapmikey]

I drove to Bluefield tonight and saw that a new sign has replaced this one. It seems to be for WV 1XX (the closed banner is still on this sign blocking part of the number, I do not think it says WV 123 so I presume this is a temporary designation) and is signed for Welch.

I finally got my picture of the photo in question online:  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10218683333354990&set=a.10218683440797676

it appears to be 10x which can only be 108 or 109.

Do I win anything?

[seicer]

King Coal Littlesburg to Mercer County Airport

The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) will hold a Public Informational Workshop on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at the Bluefield High School (Gym), 535 W Cumberland Road, Bluefield, Mercer County, West Virginia for the proposed Littlesburg (WV20) to Mercer County Airport (WV123) Section of the King Coal Highway Project. This meeting complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requirements.



Handouts and plans are within the link above. This is a continuation of a two-lane expressway (on a four-lane right-of-way) from WV 123 to WV 20 in Littlesburg. It is interesting to note that the right-of-way at WV 123 is large enough for a full folded diamond interchange; for now, it will be an at-grade intersection. There will be another intersection with a disconnected Hurricane Ridge Road, one for CR 36/4, and an at-grade intersection with a ramp to WV 20.

There is now a new graphic showing the overall project completion for the King Coal Highway project which I've not seen before. It is good to have this all in perspective.

[Bitmapped]

There is now a new graphic showing the overall project completion for the King Coal Highway project which I've not seen before. It is good to have this all in perspective.

I don't know why WVDOH proposed to break the route between Welch (King Coal interchange) and WV 20 (Littlesburg) into so many sections. None of them really have any independent utility.

[The Ghostbuster]

Perhaps that is the only part of the new roadway that has funding at the present time. It has been very slow going constructing the King Coal Highway in its entirety. After all, the first segment started construction back in 1999.

[seicer]

I wonder if they have new maps for the Tolsia Highway construction north of Williamson towards Ceredo and Kenova. The only maps I could find were in some scanned paper documents and they are laborious to look through.

[froggie]

"US Route 20"

[74/171FAN]

"US Route 20"

I had to click on the map to notice that.  Every other document stated WV 20 as it should so I was confused.

[Bitmapped]

An extension of the King Coal Highway to WV 20 is included in WVDOH's September 10, 2024 letting.

[seicer]

This is already under grading, correct? I haven't been through there since the extension to WV 123 opened, but I couldn't recall if there was any tree clearing underway or not.

[Bitmapped]

This is already under grading, correct? I haven't been through there since the extension to WV 123 opened, but I couldn't recall if there was any tree clearing underway or not.

It is not. According to the bid documents, they are still in the process of acquiring the ROW. I didn't see any signs of construction at the WV 123 end in June.

[seicer]

I've not looked through the plans for the Tolsia Highway before, but I found some interesting tidbits.

• The Kenova-Prichard Road alignment dates to 1960, much earlier than I had thought. It was more or less an upgrade of CR 1. Taken on the whole, it was built as a replacement for a twisty and curvy section of US 52 south of Huntington towards Ft. Gay. [map]
• The northernmost part of the Tolsia Highway by I-64 includes an interchange (not yet built) for CR 8 (Docks Creek Road), about 2.8 miles south of the half-finished WV 75 interchange. Traffic counts were only estimated to be less than 5,000 VPD south of CR 8, which makes this a candidate to be a two-lane expressway on a four-lane right-of-way. [map][map][map]
• The next section towards Ft. Gay shows an interchange with CR 19 (Whites Creek Road) two miles south. The old alignment of US 52 is severed a little bit to the south. [map][map]
• Further south is the segment from Crum northward, which bypasses a steep grade. It remains unbuilt north of a half-completed interchange with US 52. [map]

[chays]

I'm finding it difficult to find project timelines for the different sections of the King Coal Highway. I know there are a few sections currently under construction, but can't find completion dates. Or dates of the other planned sections. Any leads?

[Bitmapped]

I'm finding it difficult to find project timelines for the different sections of the King Coal Highway. I know there are a few sections currently under construction, but can't find completion dates. Or dates of the other planned sections. Any leads?

There is one more segment in the works - WV 20 to Montcalm, just beyond WV 71, that is anticipated to begin construction in 2026. WVDOH was doing environmental work for it last year with an anticipated construction date of 2026 assuming there is available funding. The King Coal Highway is not a priority for the new governor and WVDOH has a significant funding shortfall, so I take that date with a large grain of salt.

None of the other segments between the Gilbert Creek Connector (under constructor) to Montcalm have any projected timelines. It's quite likely they will never be built.

[hbelkins]

Drove up to Gilbert yesterday via Williamson and the existing section of the King Coal. From the current end at WV 44, it appears that the extension to the southeast is complete and paved in concrete, but there are still barricades in place and the road is not striped.

There is no evidence of anyplace where the road could tie in to existing US 52 near Gilbert, so it appears that segment will be a highway to nowhere for quite some time into the future.

That whole stretch of US 52 and WV 44 is a cautionary tale about concrete paving and roadway fill settling.

The signage for US 52 is completely opposite on either end. From WV 65 going south, signage appears to show US 52 continuing straight on the old road. But on the WV 44 end, northbound US 52 traffic is directed to turn left onto WV 44 to access the new road, with signage for Matewan and Williamson.

[Bitmapped]

Drove up to Gilbert yesterday via Williamson and the existing section of the King Coal. From the current end at WV 44, it appears that the extension to the southeast is complete and paved in concrete, but there are still barricades in place and the road is not striped.

There is no evidence of anyplace where the road could tie in to existing US 52 near Gilbert, so it appears that segment will be a highway to nowhere for quite some time into the future.

There is a project under construction currently, the Gilbert Creek Connector, that will rebuild Right Fork Bens Creek Road (County Route 10) and Gilbert Creek Road (County Route 13) from Twisted Gun Gap to the current US 52. This will be the eastern end of this section for the indefinite, perhaps permanent, future. The completion of this part might be enough to encourage existing through traffic to shift to the King Coal Highway because it will allow traffic to bypass the eastern approach to Horsepen Mountain, one of the worst mountain crossings in WV.

That whole stretch of US 52 and WV 44 is a cautionary tale about concrete paving and roadway fill settling.

It developed major problems from settling within a year or two of opening. There were several spots, especially along the WV 44 connector, where you couldn't go more than about 20-25mph because they were so bad before they did asphalt overlays.

The signage for US 52 is completely opposite on either end. From WV 65 going south, signage appears to show US 52 continuing straight on the old road. But on the WV 44 end, northbound US 52 traffic is directed to turn left onto WV 44 to access the new road, with signage for Matewan and Williamson.

WVDOH has ben very inconsistent about the signage at the top of Horsepen Mountain at the intersection of US 52 and WV 44. It showed US 52 turning onto the connector to the King Coal Highway when it first opened, then after a couple years it showed it straight on the old road, and then flipped back to the King Coal alignment a couple years ago.