King Coal / Tolsia Highway (US 52)

[Bitmapped]

Where, exactly, will this new section of US 52 intersect the existing US 52 north of Gilbert?

Talk about winding roads -- the existing WV 65 climbing the mountain to access the new road, onto which US 52 is to be concurrent, is pretty winding and steep. It's almost worth it to stay on the old route if you're heading south from Williamson.

County Route 13 (Gilbert Creek Road) is being upgraded to connect the King Coal Highway to the current US 52 alignment.

1.) There really needs to be a new route built across the mountain between Williamson (WV 49) and Naugatuck (WV 65.)

Do you mean Williamson and Delbarton? Williamson and Naugatuck are both on Tug Fork, all of the route follows the river, and most of it is Corridor G.

US 52 was rebuilt between Williamson city limits (just east of WV 49) to Delbarton town limits in the late 1970s. The only part in that stretch that really needs any work is the lower part of the climb out of Delbarton, inside city limits. The rest is good for 50mph+.

2.) Signage indicates that US 52 continues straight where it's supposed to turn onto WV 65.

The signage has been an issue with the route (as signed in the field) being moved to the King Coal Highway, then back to the old road, and then back to the King Coal Highway again. I imagine this will be cleaned up for good once the new segment opens.

[hbelkins]

Yes, I meant Delbarton. That lower end near the WV 65 north intersection is hairy.

Now, about that Crum bypass. Talk about a white elephant the way it currently exists.

[The_Ginger]

Now, about that Crum bypass. Talk about a white elephant the way it currently exists.

Certainly. I'm not sure how the Division could improve it or connect it to anything of note.

[The_Ginger]

Construction on King Coal Highway planned for July

This article says that the next segment of the King Coal (WV 108, soon-to-be US 52) is set to begin actual construction in July. The only odd part of the article was this:

The effort to develop King Coal Highway initially began decades ago, but the finish line may now be in sight.

The finish line is not in sight at all. Even if the Division began aggressively pushing for completion now, the entire thing probably wouldn't be done by 2045 or 2050.

At least they didn't mention I-73/I-74. 

[SP Cook]

WVVA is located in the Beckley-Bluefield-Oak Hill TV DMA.  The 167th (of the 210) ranked media market.  170K "TV households" combined with all of the ills of the region we discuss here from time to time.  Very low average income, population loss, old skewing population that ad buyers don't like.  And, due to the terrain and the fact that the market's 3 stations are located in 3 different places, signals that are so hard to receive that it is virtually 100% dependent on cable/DBS/alternative for signal distribution.

As such, like most such stations, it employs kids just out of college at wages that won't match McDonald's.  They sink or swim and either move on to a real place, or leave the industry and find other work.  If you read this kid's bio on the station web page, she hasn't been out of what is, really, a glorified community college, for two years yet.

Expecting such people to know the difference between an announcement of 2.8 miles of road construction and the "finish line is in sight" expects more from such people than they have to offer.