HD75 - Status of the Coalfields Expressway and the Coalfields Connector


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) was directed through Item 443 D of the 2006 Appropriation Act to develop a report detailing the status of the Coalfields Expressway and the Coalfields Connector that includes a financial plan for completing each phase of the project identifying the cost of each phase and the source of revenue to pay for said costs, separately and together. In addition, the report shall include the schedules for each phase of the project, including any EISs required under NEPA because of changes in the Expressway's route.

The Coalfields Expressway is a planned, multi-state, limited access facility on new alignment. The proposed highway extends from Pound, Virginia, 116-miles northeast to Beckley, West Virginia. As proposed, Virginia's Coalfields Expressway project (CFX), designated as U.S. Route 121, travels approximately 51-miles through southwestern Virginia in Wise, Dickenson and Buchanan counties. Ultimately, the CFX will link with the planned West Virginia Coalfields Expressway at the state line, east of Slate, Virginia.

The Route 460 Connector is a proposed four-lane rural principle arterial highway that continues the goal of improving transportation in the region by providing a link between. Route 460 improvements in Kentucky and Virginia's CFX. As proposed, it will extend 5.2-miles from the state line near the Breaks Interstate Park to a point of intersection with the proposed CFX.

Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) Corridor Q is also located in southwestern Virginia, and shares a portion of it's alignment with the CFX and the Route 460 Connector. Congress established the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in1965 to foster and promote economic and social development in the Appalachian Region. Congress established the ADHS as the centerpiece of ARC's economic and social development programs. Corridor Q extends 127.5-miles northeast from the state line near the Breaks Interstate Park to Interstate 81 near Christiansburg, Virginia.

Per a comprehensive agreement signed in accordance with the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995 (PPTA) the total estimated cost for the CFX is approximately $2.5 billion (2005 estimate). During the 2003 Session of the General Assembly, Governor Warner submitted amendments to Chapters 533 and 560 requiring that VDOT prepare a plan of finance for any project valued at $100 million or more. Specifically, § 33.1-12 of the Code of Virginia concerning the powers and duties of the Commonwealth Transportation Board was amended to include the following: For transportation construction, projects valued in excess of $100 million, the Commonwealth Transportation Board shall require that a financial plan be prepared. This plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (i) a complete cost estimate for all major project elements; (ii) an implementation plan with the project schedule and cost-to-complete information presented for each year; (iii) identified revenues by funding source available each year to meet project costs; and (iv) a detailed cash-flow analysis for each year of the proposed project. In accordance with the aforementioned legislative requirement, this document is prepared as the Initial Financial Plan for the CFX, Route 460 Connector and Corridor Q Projects (the Project).

This financial plan will define the methodology, resources, and time schedule of the work completed and remaining to finish the Project, and includes the following topics:

Background
- Provides a description of the Project and the Project's history
- Explains the current Project activities
- Presents the Project's Implementation Schedule
Project Cost Estimate
- Identifies key cost components
- Explains the cost estimating methodology
- Identifies actual cost incurred and projected expenditures by fiscal year
Project Financing
- Identifies and discusses current and planned funding sources
- Describes the State's commitment to fund the remainder of the Project

These topics form the Project's Initial Financial Plan. This plan demonstrates and outlines VDOT's commitment to sound financial planning and providing the resources needed to complete the Project by the established schedule.