January 24, 2025 - Budget amendments in both the Virginia House and Senate have been submitted for consideration in this session of the General Assembly and if approved, could mean as much as  $7.9 million for the Virginia Coalfields Expressway (CFX).

 Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority Executive Director Jonathan Belcher submitted a letter on behalf of the Virginia CFX Authority to the region’s state legislators requesting a state budget amendment to fund additional work on the expressway project.

The Virginia CFX Authority was established by the 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.

Specifically, the Coalfields Expressway, designated as U.S. Route 121 and a Congressional High Priority Corridor, is a limited-access highway to provide a modern, safe, and efficient transportation artery through the coalfield region of far Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia.

In Buchanan County, a portion of the CFX overlays the new U.S. 460 as part of the Appalachian Regional Commission Corridor Q project. The distance of Corridor Q (US 121/460) in Virginia is approximately 13 miles — running from the existing four-lane U.S. 460 at Grundy, to the Breaks Interstate Park and the Kentucky state line where it connects with the new four-lane U.S. 460 in Kentucky.

“For the past several years, the CFX Authority has been working to raise funds to enable VDOT to complete this 13 miles as a four-lane, so that it will connect with the four-lane sections on either end and will not leave Buchanan and adjacent Dickenson County without a new modern four-lane highway in this area, which we believe is crucial for this area’s economic development,” Belcher wrote in the letter requesting the budget amendment. “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.”

In addition to the monies committed by Buchanan County, at least $14 million has been committed to the four-laning project to date by the federal government.

While the amendments submitted to date contain differences in funding amounts, they all request funding for the Corridor Q – U.S. 460 Connector Phase II paving project. Funds would be used for design, construction and oversight to add additional lanes to U.S. 460 (Corridor Q) from the intersection with Virginia Route 80 near the Breaks Interstate Park to the intersection of Virginia Route 609, to promote economic development and tourism at the Breaks Interstate Park.

“We look forward to working with members of the Southwest delegation, all of whom have been very supportive of the expressway project, as these budget amendments make their way through the General Assembly this session,” Belcher said. “We have said it before and it bears repeating that the Coalfields Expressway in Virginia is a critical piece to the success of economic development in this region.”

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.