User:Djamaliyev64/Interstate 73 in West Virginia

construction began in 1999 on the three-level diamond interchange on Indian Ridge near Welch that will facilitate traffic between the King Coal Highway (US 52, Interstate 73/74) and the Coalfields Expressway (US 121).

Initial site work was completed in 2003, with grading evident; this required the filling in of a large valley. It will also be the site of a new state prison along with future industrial development.

Work has progressed on the four-lane widening of US 52 in Mercer County just east of Bluefield. On November 24, a contract totaling $2,057,914 was let to move approximately 500000 cuyd of dirt and to grade and drain .22 miles from the recently completed $27 million interchange with Corridor Q (US 460) east of Bluefield to US 19 just north of James P. Bailey Lake. Six buildings will be demolished. This is the first of several projects that will extend the King Coal Highway to West Virginia Route 123 (Airport Road) north of Bluefield. Extending this project east, another contract was awarded December 15 and totals $1,371,251. The contract calls for more than 200000 cuyd of excavation to grade and drain .18 mile of the King Coal Highway from county route 25 just north of the US 460 interchange to south of the old Raleigh-Grayson Turnpike. 36 buildings will be demolished. A future contract will include a bridge over US 19 which will cost $15 million.

Design work is being commenced on a 11 mi segment of the King Coal Highway from Horsepen Mountain to Isaban and from the Mercer County Interchange to West Virginia Route 123/Airport Road. The work being done on a 2.5 mi section of highway near Horsepen Mountain is being done by mining companies that will save taxpayers over $20 million.

The future of the project as a whole is very uncertain. In 2017, state lawmakers eliminated funding for the King Coal Highway Authority and its executive director as well as the Coalfields Expressway Authority. Both authorities were later shut down and local officials have been pushing for state lawmakers to reprioritize the construction of the King Coal Highway ever since. In June 2023, the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) announced that bids were let for the construction of the highway near Gilbert. In August of the same year, design work began to extend the highway from its current construction at Airport Road in Bluefield northward towards Littlesburg Road. However, the state still has not made the King Coal Highway one of its top priorities and doubt about whether the highway will ever be completed remains.