By CHARLES OWENS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — Legislation that includes $4 million in funding for the King Coal Highway and the Coalfields Expressway is now awaiting the signature of President Barack Obama.
According to U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., Congress has approved the Fiscal Year 2010 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which is now awaiting Obama’s signature.
The legislation includes $1.98 million for the King Coal Highway, and Byrd has specifically requested that the federal funding be used in Mercer County for a continuation of the local interstate corridor to Route 123 and the Mercer County Airport.
The bill also includes $1.98 million for the continued construction of the Coalfields Expressway. Byrd is requesting that funding be used for work associated with the Allen Creek to Slab Fork section of the four-lane corridor in Raleigh County, which is close to the Wyoming County line.
