MU Study: Coalfields Expressway to Boost, Diversify Economy

The completion of the Coalfields Expressway in southern West Virginia will allow for economic diversity and an improved quality of life, according to a new study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University .

The study released Wednesday by the Coalfields Expressway Authority was completed with the aid of U.S. Congressman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and co authored by Dr. Calvin A. Kent and Kent N. Sowards of Marshall University , Delegate Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, said.

Browning, also executive director of the Coalfields Expressway Authority, said copies of the report have been forwarded to Gov. Joe Manchin, members of the southern West Virginia congressional delegation, and state Highway Commissioner Paul Mattox.

“This is credibility,” Browning said of the Marshall University study. “We in the southern part of the state know we need a road. We've known it for years and years. We can look around at our state and others and see roads bringing economic development diversity. Any kind of data like this just adds credibility to our argument.”

Although design work is continuing, Browning said construction of the Coalfields Expressway in McDowell , Wyoming , and Raleigh Counties has stopped.

According to the study, McDowell and Wyoming counties – and Raleigh County to a certain extent – continue to rank far behind the nation and other West Virginia counties in all measures of economic conditions. Browning said research links a region's level of economic development with its isolation. Browning said the study measuring economic impact related to the completion of the four-lane highway has been in the works for at least two years. He said the report was just recently completed at the urging of Rahall.

“We are pleased that an entity with the stature and credibility of the Center for Business and Economic Research and Marshall University undertook and completed the study,” Browning said. “Dr. Alvin Kent is a well-known economist in West Virginia as well as the United States . Needless to say, we are very satisfied with the findings and results of the study.”

Browning said the study is receiving more emphasis now because so much of the governor's six-year plan for highway construction in West Virginia is based on economic development potential for new road construction.

“As far as I can tell, none of the economic development agencies in the counties served by the expressway were contacts concerning the economic potential of the expressway prior to the release of the six-year plan,” Coalfields Expressway Authority Board Chairman Michael Goode said in a press release. “This study should provide the decision-makers within the governor's office and the West Virginia Division of Highways solid economic data on which to base new decisions or re-assessments of old decisions for road building in West Virginia .”

Browning said the study concludes and data confirms the completion of the Coalfields Expressway would make a significant improvement in the region's economic conditions.

--Charles Owens (Bluefield Telegraph)