WV officials lobby for various I-73 projects

According to an April 10, 2008 article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Mercer County, WV officials are optimistic after a recent meeting in Washington to gain more funding for various I-73 projects in their area.

“I am optimistic,” Karen Dissibio, a member of the Mercer County Commission, said. “I think we will have a chance to receive funding, but it is going to be over a period of time that we receive funding because it is a large amount of money, and I don’t think they can appropriate it all at one time.”

The group made their case for an additional $75 million to build 3.3 miles of the King Coal Highway - eventually slated to become I-73/74 - from WV 123 to WV 20 in Bluefield.

In addition to the $75 million Bluefield request, officials also lobbied for $100 million for projects in Mingo County. The $100 million would help two Mingo County projects - the Gilbert Creek to Johnny Cake Mountain section and the Mary Taylor Mountain to Buffalo Mountain section - that would bring the highway to the McDowell County Line.

Officials also hope that a public-private partnership with local coal companies could quicken construction and open new funding avenues.

A coalition from Wayne County requested $100 million in federal funds to build nearly 5.7 miles of the Tolsia Highway from Kenova to Sharps Branch. The Tolsia Highway is also part of the I-73/74 corridor.

Currently, a $16.3 million construction project is underway - and ahead of schedule - that is building a set of bridges on the eventual I-73/74 route in Bluefield.

Story: Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Comments

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California. According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932. US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley. LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes. The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...

When was Ventura Avenue east of downtown Fresno renamed to Kings Canyon Road? (California State Route 180)

California State Route 180 was one of the original Sign State Routes designated in August 1934. The highway east of Fresno originally utilized what was Ventura Avenue and Dunlap Road to reach what was then General Grant National Park. By late year 1939 the highway was extended through the Kings River Canyon to Cedar Grove. In 1940 General Grant National Park would be expanded and rebranded as Kings Canyon National Park. The Kings Canyon Road designation first appeared in publications circa 1941 when the California State Route 180 bypass of Dunlap was completed. Kings Canyon Road ultimately would replace the designation of Dunlap Road from Dunlap to Centerville and Ventura Avenue west to 1st Street in Fresno. The Kings Canyon Road would remain largely intact until March 2023 when the Fresno Council designated Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Cesar Chavez Boulevard was designated over a ten-mile corridor over what was Kings Canyon Road, remaini...

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign. These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare. This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade. We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others? Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers. The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California. Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog