Senator Expresses Continued Support for CFX Construction
ST. PAUL, VA – (April 14, 2025) –Updates on the status of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway project and future plans were discussed Monday during a meeting of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority in St. Paul, VA at the Oxbow Center.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner was a guest at the meeting and spoke about the importance of the project and the federal support secured for the roadway to date.
“We first started talking about this project when I was governor 20-plus years ago,” Warner told members of the authority board. “Thank God, you hung in there. You have my commitment as long as it takes and as long as I have this job, you have my support. I know how important this is.”
He spoke briefly on congressionally directed spending funding not having been included in the recent continuing budget resolution passed in Congress and said he hoped that the expressway and some 15 other projects in Southwest Virginia will be in the funding in FY2026. He followed up his remarks on the CFX with a roundtable discussion on a variety of federal topics.
“We have a lot of differences, but this is still the greatest country in the world,” Warner said. “There’s no place like Southwest Virginia. It takes care of its own.”
During the board meeting, CFX Authority Executive Director Jonathan Belcher updated members on the current status of various facets of the overall CFX project. Belcher also serves as executive director/general counsel of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), which provides staff support to the CFX Authority.
“We owe a huge thanks to our legislators and to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for their time and support of the CFX,” Belcher said. “The successful completion of the CFX requires a strong collaborative approach involving the CFX Authority, VCEDA, VDOT, our state and federal legislators, the Governor’s office, localities and key contractors.”
Belcher noted the US121/460 Poplar Creek Phase A & B paving project is ongoing with Phase A estimated to be completed in late 2025 and Phase B, in 2027.
In 2023, the CFX Authority submitted a congressionally directed spending request for $7 million in FY24 federal funds for paving of additional lanes along the Poplar Creek Phase A & Phase B sections of the CFX which was included in the FY24 federal budget and will be used by VDOT to four-lane the Poplar Creek Phase A & Phase B sections of the CFX (4.81 miles).
“This section is particularly critical because it will complete the four-lane from the Town of Grundy to the Southern Gap industrial park and mixed-use development,” Belcher said, noting Buchanan County is providing the required $1.75 million match for that portion of the project.
Belcher noted that with the assistance of the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission (CPPDC) and ATCS (a transportation engineering consulting firm), a $300,000 grant application has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rural and Tribal Assistance (RTA) Pilot Program to fund a planning study to develop a targeted strategic plan for the funding and development of the remaining sections of the CFX, as well as an updated economic impact analysis of the CFX. That application has been submitted by CPPDC and is in the federal review process.
A congressionally directed spending (CDS) request was submitted by the CFX Authority in 2024 for another $7 million in FY25 federal funds for the US 460 Connector Phase II Paving Project which would four-lane approximately four miles of US 460 from the intersection with VA Route 80 near the Breaks Interstate Park to the intersection of VA Route 609 where it joins the CFX (US 121), Belcher said, noting that phase of the overall project would complete the four-laning from Grundy, VA to Pikeville, KY. Buchanan County again agreed to provide the required $1.75 million match.
“By working with VDOT and Buchanan County, a proposal was developed to phase the US 460 Connector Phase II paving project using a combination of federal, VDOT and local funds,” Belcher said, noting the project was added to the state six-year road plan. A total of $1.75 million was requested for the project in 2025 as a state budget amendment, but so far has not been included in the state budget.
“We also learned last month that there will be no federal non-defense CDS funding in FY25, so we have therefore reapplied for FY26,” Belcher said. “As a result, that portion of the project remains as pending funding.”
Other action by the authority has included activity to work with the region’s federal legislators on a draft bill to Congress that would add miles to the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) so that the remaining sections of the CFX in Virginia could be added to the ADHS, making those miles eligible for Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) funding consideration.
“This could be critical to the completion of the road,” Belcher said, noting currently, only the sections that overlay US 460 within Corridor Q (around eight miles) are within the ADHS.
In other activity, the CFX Authority (whose statutory mission includes recreational and tourism development of the CFX) has held stakeholder meetings since June 2024 to explore the concept of designating scenic pullover(s) along the section of US 121/460 in Buchanan County.
VDOT did some preliminary analysis and showed the CFX Authority and Buchanan County several potential sites for such pullovers. The Buchanan County IDA then submitted a $100,000 grant application to VCEDA for funds to obtain a preliminary engineering report (PER) with any remaining funds reserved for construction of a pullover. This $100,000 was approved by the VCEDA board in November 2024. The study is now underway with location and design pending. The stakeholder meetings are being held between the CFX Authority, VCEDA, VDOT, Buchanan County, Breaks Interstate Park, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and Virginia Tourism.
Belcher also detailed completed projects related to the roadway including a pre-engineering study to plan for the construction of the expressway from Grundy to the West Virginia state line which was undertaken with part of $1.995 million in CDS funding approved in FY22; an economic impact study from Chmura Economics & Analytics on the Coalfields Expressway in Virginia and West Virginia which estimated the cumulative economic impact of the CFX during a 50-year span to be $12.8 billion in 2021 dollars; and the paving of additional lanes along the US 121/460 intersection and Hawk’s Nest sections of the CFX which allowed these sections (2.57 miles of CFX plus another approximately 1.5 miles of US 460) to be opened as a four-lane in November 2023 along with another four miles of US 460 opened at the same time as a two-lane with truck climbing lanes. That project was funded by $7 million in CDS funding approved in FY23.
The first signage designating the road as the Coalfields Expressway was installed last July by VDOT at the CFX Authority’s request. Additional signage will be installed later this year as the Poplar Creek Phase A section opens.
“The signage is important because it shows that after more than 30 years, the CFX is now a reality,” Belcher noted.
The next meeting of the CFX Authority board will be held later this year.
About the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority: The Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority was formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017 to improve the transportation into, from, within and through Southwest Virginia; to assist in regional economic development; and to generally enhance highway safety in the affected localities of Southwest Virginia. The Coalfields Expressway, designated as U.S. Route 121 and a Congressional High Priority Corridor, is a proposed limited-access highway to provide a modern, safe and efficient transportation artery through the coalfields region of far Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority provides staff support to the authority board. www.vceda.us/cfxauthority.