June 18, 2025 - As of right now, WV Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s decision to halt all new highway construction in the state will not impact current King Coal Highway projects.

Ryland Musick, District 10 Engineer for the Department of Highways (DOH), said in a statement from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) that projects which are already under construction or under contract are still moving forward.

Musick said the DOH has not been notified to modify any timelines for projects.

Jennifer Dooley, public relations division director with the DOT, said those projects include the 2.5-mile stretch of King Coal Highway from Airport Road to Littlesburg Road.

Kanawha Stone Company, based in Charleston, was awarded a contract for almost $58 million in October 2024 to complete that project. Dooley said the environmental process to begin site work has already started.

An approximately $107 million project to extend the King Coal Highway from Littlesburg to Montcalm is currently in the planning stage.

Another King Coal Highway project in Mingo County is already under construction, as is a section of the Coalfields Expressway in McDowell County.

When complete, the King Coal Highway will connect Detroit, Mich. and Myrtle Beach, S.C. with 95 miles of that running through Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Mingo and Wayne counties in West Virginia.

The efforts to reach that goal beyond the current funded projects remains less certain.