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February 16, 1999
The Division of Highways has selected a split diamond configuration for the Coalfields Expressway
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CHARLESTON--The Division of Highways has selected a split diamond configuration for the Coalfields Expressway-King Coal Highway interchange.
Located near WV 16 near the border of Wyoming and McDowell counties, the project will be adjacent to the Indian Ridge Industrial Park site currently under development by the McDowell County Commission.
"This design will provide uninterrupted traffic conditions on both expressways," said Highway Commissioner Sam Beverage.
According to Beverage, the configuration will consist of four one-way ramps, with each pair of ramps connected to a separate crossroad. With a maximum grade of six percent, both the Coalfields Expressway (US 121) and the King Coal Highway (I-73-74) will have design speeds of 65 mph and will provide four-lane divided roadways with a 46-foot-wide median.
"I am very pleased that WVWVDOH has proceeded with a final design contract at the interchange," said Richard Browning, Executive Director of the Coalfields Expressway Authority. "Consulting engineers are currently developing plans on a scale in which one inch equals fifty feet. If everything proceeds as planned, this means that construction can begin in a major way later this year or early in the 2000 construction season if problems do arise."
An approved Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Coalfields Expressway should be complete by March and public meetings will be scheduled in April, with a Record of Decision expected to be signed by Federal Highways Administration officials in June, according to Browning. After that, design plans will be completed and rights-of-way obtained, allowing bids to be taken for construction.
Highways preliminary cost estimate to construct the interchange, which will involve approximately five miles of roadway in four directions, is $107 million. A possible location for a diamond interchange with WV 16 is currently under consideration.
The split-diamond style of interchange for the two highways represents a plan for the future by WVWVDOH, according to Browning.
"This interchange is based on tomorrow's projections of traffic, not today's needs, and I applaud Commissioner Beverage for his decision," Browning said. "In addition to allowing for continuous movement between both roads, the split diamond also uses the least amount of right-of-way of any the styles."
Browning noted that there had been very good executive and legislative support for the project on both the state and federal levels.
"I have been calling on our state legislators almost daily for help in one area or another on this road and they have, without fail, responded to my every need," he said. "Monies to be used for the initial construction were placed in the federal budget by Senator Robert C. Byrd and Congressman Nick Rahall. The county commissioners of Raleigh, Wyoming, and McDowell counties have been very supportive and helpful with this project. Without the support of Governor Underwood and the WVWVDOH, we would be where we were two years ago, in the early planning stages."
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