BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) – West Virginia Governor Jim Justice was in Mercer County on Monday and announced that the contract to build the next section of the King Coal Highway has been awarded to a company.

Justice announced that Kanawha Stone Company won the contract to complete 2.5 miles of the highway from Airport Road to Littlesburg Road. The cost of completing the entire road is 57 million dollars.

Construction is expected to begin next year, and West Virginia Department of Highways officials say the highway is expected to take two years to complete.

“The King Coal Highway and Coalfield Expressway will bring life to Southern West Virginia in ways you couldn’t imagine,” Justice said. “They are very important to Southern West Virginia, where I grew up.”

Once completed, the King Coal Highway is expected to extend 95 miles across West Virginia. It will pass through Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming, Mingo and Wayne counties.

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