Section Of King Coal Highway Opens

{West Virginia}...A 12-mile section of the King Coal Highway has opened in Mingo County. King Coal Highway Authority Executive Director Mike Mitchem says two lanes of the four-lane highway are open from the top of Horespen Mountain to Mary Taylor Mountain near Red Jacket, and Alpha Natural Resources is grading the other two lanes from Horsepen to Delbarton. Mitchem says Alpha's work on the 12-mile section will save the state nearly $300 million. He says Consol Energy is awaiting permits to begin work on another 5-mile section from Delbarton to Belo. When completed, the highway will run 90 miles from Williamson to Bluefield and be part of the I-73/74 corridor.