under construction in 2004 near
Sophia, West Virginia. The Coalfields Expressway will depart from US 23 in
Pound, Virginia, in
Wise County, and roughly follow
Virginia State Route 83 (SR 83) in
Buchanan County to
West Virginia Route 83 (WV 83) in
McDowell County, West Virginia. Then it will travel northeast through depressed areas of
West Virginia, paralleling
West Virginia Route 16 through
Wyoming and
Raleigh counties. It will then run toward an expanded
Interstate 64/
Interstate 77 interchange near
Beckley. The roadways US 121 will replace are deficient in the fact that the existing roadways have limited passing opportunities, steep grades, and low design speeds. As of October 2020, of US 121 is open to traffic in West Virginia (from the connector to WV 54 near
Mullens and WV 16/
WV 97 in Sophia) is currently signed as
West Virginia Route 121 (
WV 121).
Virginia In Virginia, the Coalfields Expressway will run for , following
Virginia Route 83 from the West Virginia border to
U.S. Highway 23 in
Pound. Near the
Grundy -
Vansant area,
U.S. Route 460 will become a new four-lane highway connecting the Coalfields Expressway with
Breaks Interstate Park at the
Virginia /
Kentucky border and
Elkhorn City, Kentucky.
West Virginia Construction started in 1999 with grading near
Welch in southern West Virginia. Work was completed in 2003. Further eastward, work is continuing on a segment of the Expressway in the vicinity of
Sophia and
Crab Orchard near
Beckley totaling . Grading and preliminary paving operations have been completed, as well as the gradings and bridge construction for a diamond interchange for
West Virginia Route 54 and a bridge over
West Virginia Route 16. In November 2004, a contract was awarded for paving operations at a cost of $11.5 million from Surveyor Creek Road to the
West Virginia Route 16 interchange. With this segment of the Expressway completed, a new tie-in will be complete from Surveyor Creek Road to five-lane
West Virginia Route 16, as well as an interchange with
West Virginia Route 54. Two contracts totaling $22.2 million are currently under construction. One project involves grading and drainage operations on of US 121 from Big Ridge to Surveyor Creek Road that involves nearly of excavation. In the fall of 2013, two contracts were awarded to grade and drain an additional of US 121 near
Helen. It is one of four projects planned to complete the road to
Mullens. Following the election of
Governor Jim Justice in
2016, the newly elected Governor began aggressively pushing for the highway's completion. Governor Justice requested $54.4 million for grading in Wyoming County. The construction would be financed through raising taxes. In an upcoming ballot issue to approve of road bonds, Governor Justice allocated $55 million to extend the road from Slab Fork to Mullens and eventually to Welch. The ballot issue passed. On October 1, 2020, the extension to Mullens opened at a ceremony attended by Governor Justice. ==Major intersections==