A trip to Charleston on Monday, March 16, to meet with WV Secretary of Transportation Paul Mattox about funding for the Coalfields Expressway provided few answers but did increase the ire of a large delegation of concerned citizens from Wyoming and McDowell Counties who gathered for the special meeting in the Governor’s Press Conference Room.
The meeting was arranged by Coalfields Expressway Executive Director, Sen. Richard Browning (D-Wyoming), and drew as standing-room only crowd.
According to Mattox, around $1 billion is needed to complete the Coalfields Expressway, with the cost to build the highway at $40 million per mile. Highway construction in less mountainous regions of the state averages about $25 million per mile, he said.
Mattox stressed that the DOH spends the highway funding it receives, but does not raise the funds for the various projects.
The delegation’s anger stemmed from the fact that McDowell and Wyoming Counties, two of the poorest areas in the state, continue to be deprived of road funding, with the most recent example being the entire $32 million in federal stimulus dollars being earmarked for the East Beckley Bypass.
To qualify for stimulus dollars, Mattox said that a project must be shovel- ready and fall within budget perimeters.
Browning countered that a portion of the Coalfields Expressway could have been shovel ready in a matter of weeks. The one included in the stimulus package, which ended up being removed, would have taken the new road through the Indian Ridge Industrial Park and could have been “shovel ready” in 90 days. Currently, 1.4 miles of unpaved highway is now available at the Industrial Park, which is located on the McDowell/Wyoming County border.
Harold McBride, Welch, said McDowell and Wyoming County’s economy is stalled and cannot grow sufficiently until the Coalfields Expressway opens up the two southern counties to additional development.
McBride likened the road funding inequity to the state and federal government giving affluent Raleigh County two pair of shoes while allowing Raleigh County’s poor neighbors in McDowell and Wyoming County to remain barefoot. It is totally unfair for McDowell and Wyoming Counties to have no four-lane highways while Raleigh County has two major interstates, McBride said.
McBride, along, with War Mayor Tom Hatcher, Emily Yeager, Kathleen Dudley, and other members of the McDowell delegation were disgruntled that Sen. John Fanning and Delegate Clif Moore did not attend the meeting. “We are very disappointed that

they didn’t attend,” McBride said. Hatcher encapsulated the delegation’s sentiment following the meeting when he noted, “It was utterly frustrating. They’ve been working on the road for 10 years, when is it going to be finished?
“Mr. Mattox says the DOH doesn’t raise funds and only spends what they’re given, but you know they have to talk to officials in Washington. If the DOH is not talking to Sen. Byrd and Congressman Rahall, they need to.”
Hatcher said the meeting with Secretary Mattox convinced him of the direction in which the concerned citizens who attended Monday’s meeting should go. McDowell and Wyoming County citizens, he said, should form a support group for the Coalfields Expressway and then go to Washington and talk to Congressman Nick Rahall and Sen. Robert Byrd to obtain money to construct a useable piece of the Coalfields Expressway. That way, the DOH could not use the excuse that the road must have a useable piece to qualify for any future stimulus funding.
“The meeting was more than frustrating,” said Welch resident Kathleen Dudley. “Mr. Mattox basically told us to get the money ourselves and they’d build the road. I thought it was the state’s job to help us, but state officials don’t appear to be interested in helping McDowell and Wyoming Counties.”
Cathy Lockhart, Panther, agreed. “Everyone should tell our legislative delegation that we’re ticked off that the Coalfields Expressway is not funded. I’m tired of it and I want our legislators to stand with us on this. If they can’t get it moving, they need to step down.”
Lockhart said that she was also upset because of improvements on Route 52 outside of McDowell County.
“To pacify us, Mr. Mattox talked about improvements on Route 52, but when Harold (McBride) pressed him on where the improvements are, they were in Mingo County,” Lockhart said. “That’s not going to help us a bit.”
Jay Morgan, a Wyoming County resident, promised Secretary Mattox that Monday’s meeting was the first of many more to come. Morgan asserted that the group would become a thorn in the DOH’s side and would return in greater numbers and strength. Morgan vowed that the concerned citizens would not rest until the Coalfields Expressway is complete.