Virginia CFX Authority Prepares to File for Two Federal Grants Related to CFX Projects

LEBANON, VA – (FEBRUARY 17, 2026) – The Virginia Coalfields Expressway (CFX) Authority is finalizing documents to apply for two federal U.S. Department of Transportation Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants totaling some $30.5 million.

 

The grant applications under development include $25 million related to a Safety and Capacity Improvements capital project for Route 23 Business in the Town of Pound; and $5.5 million for planning for a Route 83 Safety and Capacity Improvements Project in Wise and Dickenson counties.

 

The CFX Authority has been working on the grant applications with a consultant on the overall expressway project.

 

The Coalfields Expressway, designated as U.S. Route 121 and a Congressional High Priority Corridor, is a proposed limited-access highway to provide a modern, safe and efficient transportation artery through the coalfield region of far Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. The proposed expressway is designed to provide safe and rapid access to communities along the corridor, with interchanges connecting citizens of Pound, Clintwood, Clinchco, Haysi, Breaks, Grundy and Slate. The total length is approximately 50 miles.

 

The $25 million in BUILD capital funds being sought would be used to complete design and construction for critical mobility, safety and truck‑routing needs along 1.2 miles of Route 23 Business in the Town of Pound. With approximately 5,800 vehicles per day, the route is a primary gateway into downtown Pound as well as Dickenson County, according to Virginia CFX Authority Executive Director Jonathan Belcher.

 

“The project, when complete, prepares Pound to serve as a logistics and service hub for future Coalfields Expressway development, strengthening regional competitiveness for industrial and commercial investment,” Belcher said. “Importantly, this project also enhances safety.”

 

The $5.5 million in BUILD planning funds would be used to advance planning and preliminary design for essential mobility, safety and economic benefits along a 7.4‑mile corridor between the Town of Pound and the Town of Clintwood. Route 83 carries 5,400–5,700 vehicles per day, functioning as the key alternate to the future Coalfields Expressway, designated by Congress as a High‐Priority Corridor since 1995. As the connector between ADHS Corridors B and Q, Route 83 plays an essential role in the region’s long‐term economic competitiveness, Belcher noted.

 

“Both of these projects, if awarded, would deliver essential economic and transportation benefits for Wise County and Dickenson County, the broader coalfields region and provide connectivity to Corridor B of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) and a segment of Rt. 83 which also functions as the parallel corridor to the Coalfields Expressway and links Corridor B and Corridor Q of the Appalachian Development Highway System,” Belcher said. “Both are critical links to strengthen access to future CFX segments and ADHS corridors and are essential to regional economic development.”

 

Specifically, the $25 million grant would be used to advance design and construction of the following improvements:

 

• Establishing Route 23 Business (northern entry) as the official truck route to Route 83, supported by a comprehensive signing and wayfinding plan.

• Restricting truck access from the southern entry to improve safety and reduce heavy‐vehicle conflicts in the town center.

• Constructing new right‐turn lanes, including one on US Route 23 and two on Route 23 Business.

• Correcting a substandard curve to meet 45‐mph urban low‐speed design standards.

• Upgrading segments of the corridor with curb and gutter, a new sidewalk, and improved drainage.

• Milling and overlaying pavement and modernizing markings and signage at the intersection of Route 83 and US 23 Business.

 

The $5.5 million grant would be used to further develop the Rt. 83 project and preliminary engineering to address numerous critical deficiencies, including:

 

• Construction of new right‐turn and left‐turn lanes at critical intersections.

• Addition of truck climbing lanes to improve truck and commuter mobility.

• Curve realignments to modern safety standards.

• Paved shoulders, improved drainage, guardrail upgrades, and targeted access‐management enhancements.

 

The CFX Authority has requested the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to manage both projects and would be subject to VDOT’s normal requirements and processes before either project would commence.

 

A number of letters of support for the applications have already been received and will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation next week with the completed grant applications for both projects.

 

Currently, the total mileage of the CFX completed and open for travel in Virginia is 4.95 miles -- approximately 10 percent of the total mileage of the expressway in Virginia. An additional 2.07 miles of the expressway is expected to open in late 2027, which will also complete “Corridor Q” (U.S. 460/121) from Grundy, VA to Pikeville, KY.  Also included within Corridor Q in Virginia is the seven-mile U.S. 460 Connector section which opened in November 2023 and which connects to the CFX.

 

“The Coalfields Expressway is a critical piece of infrastructure which is considered essential for the region’s future,” Belcher said. “There is still a long way to go, but each step we take brings us closer to the finish line.”

 

Efforts to raise the funding for the project are ongoing and the CFX Authority continues working with state and federal officials. Earlier this month, it was announced $3 million for the expressway project was approved in the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Congressman Morgan Griffith sought the funding through congressionally directed spending avenues which made it possible.

 

Meanwhile, legislation in the Virginia General Assembly continues to move forward. That legislation, in the form of House and Senate budget amendments introduced by Del. Will Morefield and Sen. Travis Hackworth, is advancing. If approved, the amendments under consideration would provide an additional $7.875 million for the CFX project in Fiscal Year 2028.

Work also continues with the region’s legislators on efforts to get the remainder of the Coalfields Expressway added to the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Development Highway System – a move considered critical to raising funding for the remaining sections of the expressway.

 

About the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority:   The Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority was formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017 to improve transportation into, from, within and through Southwest Virginia; to assist in regional economic development; and to generally enhance highway safety in the affected localities of Southwest Virginia.  The Coalfields Expressway, designated as U.S. Route 121 and a Congressional High Priority Corridor, is a proposed limited-access highway to provide a modern, safe and efficient transportation artery through the coalfields region of far Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia.  The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority provides staff support to the authority board. www.vceda.us/cfxauthority.