CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill to construct a modern highway expansion of the Mountain Parkway in Kentucky from Mingo County to Mercer and Raleigh counties passed the House of Delegates on Wednesday.
The four-lane route would create a direct path to cities such as Lexington, Ky., Cincinnati and Charlotte.
“This is money that will put people back to work,” said Del. Justin Marcum (D-Mingo), who introduced the bill. “Put people who are laid off back to work, building this road and diversifying our economy.”
Marcum said the project would take time and money, but it is a worthy cause to help the many unemployed residents of the Southern Coalfields.
“It’s not going to be an immediate fix. It’s going to take some time,” he said. “But this is a bill that is a common sense approach to developing the Southern Coalfields, from Mercer County, McDowell County, all the way across to Mingo and Wayne (counties).”
The legislation requires the Commissioner of Highways to conduct a study and develop a highway project plan to extend the Mountain Parkway Expansion into West Virginia.
“This can be a big step toward getting Interstate 73, 74 completed through our state, which is going to be a vital piece of the puzzle to redevelop our coalfields,” said Del. Matthew Rohrbach (R-Cabell).
The bill passed the House 98-1. The Senate also has a companion bill that’s moving through the legislative process.
“Let’s be clear we need coal jobs and I’ll always fight for coal miners but this bill will allow us another tool in the toolbox to diversify our local economy,” Marcum added.
Marcum had been working on this project since June 2015 with several state and national leaders in West Virginia.