WELCH -- It will meander more than 113 miles through the coal producing counties of southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia.

Although construction on the Coalfields Expressway has been underway for several years in West Virginia, local, state and federal officials are still struggling to jump-start the project in neighboring Virginia, where it has yet to reach a construction stage.

In West Virginia, an unpaved segment of the four-lane highway has already been completed in McDowell County, and about 3.5 miles of the roadway is complete in Raleigh County. A larger contract expected to be awarded this fall could bring the four-lane highway to the Wyoming County line.

However, construction hasn’t yet started on the roadway in Southwest Virginia, where it is proposed to extend 51 miles through Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise counties ultimately linking with the West Virginia segment of the roadway near the Paynesville community.

Last week, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced the approval of a $2 million state grant that will be used by the Virginia Department of Transportation, and its private sector coal company partners, to initiate preliminary project development activities on the expressway, as well as the U.S. Route 460 connector project. The move followed a plea from U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., to the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Boucher urged the board to make a firm commitment to the project.

The movement in Virginia as well as the proposal to partner with private coal companies in removing coal reserves as part of the construction of the roadway bed was welcomed by officials in West Virginia.

"I think Gov. Tim Kaine has revived that idea, and has tried to push the public-private aspect of it, which is something we are wanting to do," Delegate Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, also executive director of the West Virginia-based Coalfields Expressway Authority, said. "If you remember, the Beckley to Grundy highway was the original name for the project."

Browning said the original intent of the expressway was to help depressed coal-producing counties in both southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. Browning said the completion of the Virginia segment of the project is of equal importance to West Virginia. However, he is confident that the Virginia-side segment of the highway will be constructed.

Browning said West Virginia continues to pursue the public-private partnership as well.

"We have to have a willing and private partner to come forward and make a proposal that is credible," Browning said.

In Virginia, partnering with private coal companies in a fashion similar to that being used on the King Coal Highway in neighboring West Virginia would produce cost-savings on the Coalfields Expressway, Boucher said last week.

According to Boucher, the coal companies which own the rights to the reserves have expressed a strong interest in partnering with the state of Virginia to begin construction on the Coalfields Expressway in Southwest Virginia as part of their mining operations.

Construction on the Coalfields Expressway using this new approach will assure that we as a region are able to derive the maximum benefit from the promising growth which we are currently experiencing in Southwest Virginia, Boucher said in a press release. By providing access to major interstates from Virginia’s coal producing region, the Coalfields Expressway will effectively address the inadequacies of transportation infrastructure that exists currently, while encouraging further growth in major economic development initiatives already taking place in the region.

Boucher said the existing transportation infrastructure in Southwest Virginia is inadequate to meet the needs of the region. However, when constructed, Boucher said the Coalfields Expressway will intersect with both U.S. Route 460 in Buchanan County and with Interstate 23 in Wise County. Both 460 and 23, according to Boucher, have undergone recent upgrades and provide ready access to major arteries along the Interstate Highway System, specifically Interstates 81 and 77.

Boucher said the road is critical to future economic development and tourism growth in Southwest Virginia. He cites recent developments as the new University of Virginia in Wise, the Breaks Interstate Park and the construction on Grundy’s new redevelopment site.