Another massive bridge pier rises from the ground below Grundy as construction continues on the Coalfields Expressway’s Poplar Creek Phase B project. The final two-mile section will connect Poplar Creek Road to Grundy, completing another key segment of the long-awaited four-lane highway through Buchanan County. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2027.
After months of anticipation, $7 million in state funding for the Coalfields Expressway is officially in place.
The funding became final when Virginia’s budget was approved June 29, securing money to continue construction of the U.S. 460 completion project in Buchanan County. State Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, who served as the only Southwest Virginia lawmaker on the conference committee that negotiated the final spending plan, announced the project’s inclusion in the completed budget.
The $7 million will fund the completion of approximately 4 miles of U.S. 460, extending from the Virginia 80 intersection near Breaks Interstate Park to the Virginia 609 intersection, where the roadway connects to the existing four-lane highway. According to Jonathan Belcher, executive director of the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority and the Virginia Coalfields Economic Development Authority, two lanes of the section have already been completed. The newly approved funding will allow construction of the remaining two lanes, creating a continuous four-lane highway between Grundy and Pikeville, Kentucky, once the project is finished.
The state funding adds to $3 million approved earlier this year in the federal budget for the same project. Belcher said the project is expected to be advertised for bids and completed within about three years.
Construction also continues on Poplar Creek Phase B, the final two-mile section connecting Poplar Creek Road to Grundy. VDOT estimates that the project will be completed in late 2027 and will cost an estimated $178 million.
The Coalfields Expressway is designed to provide a safer and more efficient transportation corridor through Southwest Virginia while reducing travel times, improving access to health care and creating new opportunities for business, tourism and economic development.
Since 2023, several major sections of the highway have opened to traffic, including approximately 2.5 miles of Route 121 in November 2023 and another three miles with the completion of Poplar Creek Phase A in late 2025. Once the current project is completed, motorists will be able to travel on a continuous four-lane highway from Grundy to Pikeville.
The Coalfields Expressway is part of the National Highway System. It will eventually connect Interstates 64 and 77 in West Virginia with U.S. 23 in Virginia, creating an important transportation corridor linking Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
While work continues in Buchanan County, future Route 121 expansions into Dickenson and Wise counties remain dependent on funding through Virginia’s SMART SCALE program, which prioritizes transportation projects based on statewide needs.
