Inspecting progress on the McDowell County side of the King Coal Highway/Coalfields Expressway interchange at the McDowell/Wyoming County line was part of a May 2 meeting between Governor Bob Wise, Transportation Secretary Fred VanKirk and members of the Coalfields Expressway Authority and Wyoming County leaders.

Wise and VanKirk met with leaders to outline county projects scheduled for 2001 construction, including a new road and bridge, estimated at $1.3 million, to serve Wyoming County’s Clear Fork Coatings industrial site. The cost is justified, Wise said, by its “potential for bringing in a new industry-cleaning, shaping and coating marine steel products-and the creation of new jobs in the Wyoming County area.”

Design plans are currently under way on a Wyoming County segment of the Coalfields Expressway north of the interchange that calls for an interchange with WV 16. Construction of the McDowell County segment, under a $23.2 million contract with Bizzack, Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky, is expected to be complete by late fall.

The photos below show work in progress:

Governor Bob Wise discusses the project with Art Kirkendoll of the Governor's Southern Office.		Joe Martin, Secretary of Military Affairs, (L to R)  Nick Mason, Mayor of Northfork, WV, Governor Wise, Delegate Richard Browning,  Senator Truman Chafin, Senator Walt Helmick and an unidentified man tour the construction project.

Governor Wise with Delegate Browning, who is also Executive Director of Coalfields Expressway Authority inspect progress on the road site.		The project involves 6,662,172 cubic yards of excavation, including more than 4.5 million cubic yards from nearby borrow sites.

Another view showing the massive earthmoving involved in this project.