State Awards $72.5 Million Contract, Advances Coalfields Expressway Through County
The West Virginia Division of Highways awarded a $72.5 million contract on Oct. 28, 2025 to continue construction on U.S. 121, including a connector to Twin Falls State Park and three miles of two lane mainline near Pineville. The special bid letting also included roughly $3.7 million in smaller contracts to repair flood damaged roads across 16 counties, with multiple projects specifically awarded in McDowell County that will address landslide damage and resurfacing needs.
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State transportation officials on Oct. 28, 2025 approved a major contract that advances the Coalfields Expressway through southern West Virginia, a corridor that runs directly through McDowell County. Triton Construction of St. Albans won the $72.5 million contract to build a connector to Twin Falls State Park and to construct three miles of two lane mainline near Pineville, the West Virginia Division of Highways reported. The award was summarized in a Nov. 5, 2025 story by Construction Equipment Guide, which recapped the WVDOH release.
The bid letting also covered recovery work following this year’s floods, with approximately $3.7 million in smaller contracts awarded across 16 counties to repair flood damaged roads and stabilize slides. McDowell County received multiple specific awards aimed at addressing landslide damage and restoring safe travel on local routes. The WVDOH summary lists a micropile slide repair and resurfacing on W.Va. 83 awarded to GeoStabilization International for $442,090, a micropile slide repair and resurfacing near Bradshaw on W.Va. 80 for $277,818, and a piling wall slide repair on W.Va. 103 awarded to Thaxton Construction for $481,669. Additional micropile and slide repair jobs on local routes were also included in the McDowell portion of the release.
For residents of McDowell County the combined awards mean both long term and immediate changes to local transportation. The Coalfields Expressway connector near Pineville is expected to improve regional connectivity and access to Twin Falls State Park, which could support tourism and ease travel for local drivers. At the same time the slide repairs and resurfacing contracts address urgent safety concerns on routes that suffered damage in the 2025 floods, restoring access for emergency services, school buses, and local commerce.
Construction will bring temporary disruptions such as traffic shifts and work zones, while offering local contracting and labor opportunities during the repair period. The WVDOH bid letting signals continued state investment in the Coalfields corridor, reinforcing the expressway project as a regional priority even as agencies respond to immediate infrastructure damage caused by extreme weather events this year.
The awards were part of the WVDOH special bid letting dated Oct. 28, 2025, and were reported in industry coverage on Nov. 5, 2025. Local officials and residents will be watching the pace of work and timing for completion as projects move from planning to construction.
