LEBANON, VA – DECEMBER 6, 2024 — J. H. Rivers, of Wise County, was named the chairman of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority (CFX) Board for 2025 during a meeting of the CFX Authority Friday in Lebanon, VA. Scott Mullins, of Dickenson County, was named vice chairman.
Jay Rife, the current board chairman, was also recognized for his service to the board by fellow board members.
“It has been a pleasure to serve this board,” Rife said. “I have appreciated the opportunity to serve this board for the past four years.”
Virginia CFX Authority Executive Director Jonathan Belcher provided members of the authority an update on the overall project, including the content of a letter sent to state legislators in November asking they consider a state budget amendment of at least $1.75 million in funding to help complete the four-laning of US 121/460 to the Breaks Interstate Park and the Kentucky state line. The Coalfields Expressway, or US 121 as it is officially called, is a Congressional high priority corridor to provide a modern limited access highway to serve the coalfields of Virginia and West Virginia.
Belcher noted for the past several years, the CFX Authority has been working to raise funds to enable VDOT to complete 13 miles of US 121/460 as a four-lane, so it will connect with existing four-lane road on either end at the Kentucky state line and Grundy, Virginia and not leave Buchanan and adjacent Dickenson County without a new modern four-lane highway in that area.
Belcher, who also serves as executive director/general counsel of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), noted the roadway is crucial for this area’s economic development.
“We believe we have been successful, with the assistance of the region’s federal legislators and thanks to $3.5 million in local matching funds from the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors, to raise sufficient funds to four-lane all but the last 2.11 miles of the 13 miles,” Belcher wrote in a letter to state legislators.
He pointed out the state funds requested would match $3.5 million Buchanan County has approved for the project and the at least $14 million the federal government has already committed to invest in the project. Those funds would enable the authority to have the match funding needed to request the remaining federal dollars needed for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to complete the fourlaning of the last 2.11 miles of that section of road, he said.
Funding concepts being explored include the development of a “U.S. Route 121 Corridor Development Fund” similar to the existing “U.S. Route 58 Corridor Development Fund;” as well as bond funding and private financing.
Getting the corridor added as a designated Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) project by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is also being pursued, Belcher said.
In June 2024, the CFX Authority voted to request that ARC add the CFX to the ADHS so the remaining sections of the CFX in Virginia would be eligible to apply for ARC funding, which could be critical to the completion of the road. Currently, only the sections that overlay US 460 within Corridor Q (around eight miles) are within the ADHS.
A letter was sent to ARC and after following up, in September 2024, a response letter was received from the executive director of ARC stating it would “require an act of Congress” to add the CFX mileage to the ADHS.
The ARC recognized the “steady progress” being made toward the completion of the ADHS Corridor Q near Grundy, however, it was noted the number of miles on the ADHS system is set by federal statute and that currently, all of the available miles for Virginia have already been allocated to existing corridors.
Since receiving that response, Belcher noted he has been working with the region’s federal legislators on a draft bill to Congress that would add miles to the ADHS which would allow for the CFX to be included.
In other business, Belcher noted the required 2024 annual report of the authority will be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly in the coming weeks.
“None of the CFX Authority initiatives would be possible without the support of the CFX Authority Board, VCEDA, VDOT and our state and federal legislators,” Belcher told board members. “Governor Youngkin has also been a big help.”
He noted that projects completed thus far included the CFX (US 121) Grundy to West Virginia state line pre-engineering study; a CFX economic impact study; the US 121/460 intersection and Hawk’s Nest paving project; and the first signage on the Virginia CFX installed by VDOT at the CFX Authority’s request.
Additional projects continue to be worked on, including:
- US 121/460 Poplar Creek Phase A & B Paving Project – funded, construction pending: This request was included in the FY24 federal budget and funds will be used by VDOT to pave additional lanes at the Poplar Creek Phase A & Phase B sections of the CFX (4.81 miles). It will complete the four-lane from the Town of Grundy to the Southern Gap industrial park and mixed-use development. Buchanan County is providing the required $1.75 million match. VDOT noted at the meeting that change orders on the Phase A portion were approved by the federal highway administration last week. The new projected completion date is Fall 2025. Phase B, VDOT noted, is on track and is expected to be open in 2027.
- US 460 Connector Phase II Paving Project — partially funded, remaining funds being sought: A congressionally directed spending request was submitted by the CFX Authority in 2024 for $7 million in FY25 federal funds for the US 460 Connector Phase II Paving Project which will 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). The funds are needed to complete the four-lane from Grundy, VA to Pikeville, KY. Buchanan County agreed to provide the required $1.75 million match. Belcher noted the CFX Authority learned this fall that only $1.5 million was likely to be included in the FY25 federal budget for the project, leaving a $5.5 million project deficit. Working with VDOT and Buchanan County, a proposal was developed to phase the project which would see 1.87 miles of this section widened into a four-lane using a combination of federal, VDOT and local funds and then additional funds will be sought for FY26 to complete the remaining two miles of this section.
- US 121/460 Scenic Wildlife Viewing Pullover Project – funding approved, design pending: At the suggestion of the Breaks Interstate Park, the CFX Authority (whose statutory mission includes recreational and tourism development of the CFX) held a stakeholders’ meeting in June 2024 to explore the concept of scenic wildlife viewing pullover(s) along the completed section of US 121/460 in Buchanan County.
Following this, VDOT did some preliminary analysis and showed the CFX Authority and Buchanan County several potential sites for such pullovers. The Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority 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. In November 2024, the VCEDA Board approved the $100,000. Another stakeholders meeting was held earlier in the day on December 6 to begin planning for the PER. The stakeholders group includes the CFX Authority, VCEDA, VDOT, Buchanan County, Breaks Interstate Park, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and Virginia Tourism.
Breaks Interstate Park Superintendent Austin Bradley addressed the board briefly to suggest a marketing name be developed to also promote the Virginia CFX as a scenic byway designation. Tom Hampton, with the Department of Wildlife Resources, also addressed the board noting the elk herd now numbers a conservative 250. He noted DWR is working with VDOT on elk signage, flashing lights and other ways to alert drivers to the presence of elk along the route in an effort to increase driver awareness in an effort to avoid animal-vehicle collisions. It was also noted VDOT is completing a pilot research study on large animal detection in that area where the elk roam.
“A great deal of progress on the Virginia CFX has been made in the past few years, but there is still a long way to go,” Belcher said. “We will all keep working on it. As we all know, the CFX is a critical piece of infrastructure for our region and one of the keys to economic growth in the future of the Southwest Virginia region.”
The next meeting of the Virginia CFX Authority will be held in the spring of 2025.
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.