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BECKLEY, WV — Gov. Jim Justice joined West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., and Raleigh County Commission President Greg Duckworth on Sep 5th, for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of work on the southern leg of the Beckley Z-Way project near Beckley.

The project, a combination of two separate construction contracts, is designed to alleviate congestion on US 19 through the communities of Beaver, Shady Spring, and into Beckley. Both projects are funded through Turnpike bonds as part of Gov. Justice's $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program.

"On Sep 5th, is a long-awaited milestone for the Beckley community, Raleigh County, and West Virginia," Gov. Justice said. "After two decades, we are finally making the Beckley Z-Way a reality. Growing up in Southern West Virginia, I have traveled these roads more times than I can remember, and I look around today and could not be more proud. Every single one of us has pulled the rope together to make this much-needed project happen, and I could never thank you enough. There's no stopping us now—we are running right through the finish line." 

On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, Kanawha Stone Company Inc. was awarded a contract for $56.7 million to construct a new roadway from US 19 and Airport Road to Interstate 64 at the South Eisenhower Drive interchange. The project connects Beaver with South Eisenhower Drive in Beckley and is designed to ease congestion in the area by widening and relocating a portion of US 19.

On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, Mountaineer Contractors Inc. was the low bidder on the second Z-Way construction project from Shady Spring to Beaver, with a bid of just under $54 million. The 3.6-mile project will connect the intersection of US 19 and WV 3 at Shady Spring with US 19 at Beaver, connecting with the Beaver to South Eisenhower Drive section of the Z-Way.

“We’ve worked on this for nearly 2 ½ decades to get to this point,” Secretary Wriston said. “We struggled because for decades, all across the country, we underinvested in our infrastructure. But when Gov. Justice came into office in 2017, the Governor put a new emphasis on roads. “We owe this to this great leader right here, with his big, bold vision for the Roads to Prosperity.”

Existing US 19 will remain open to traffic while the section from Shady Spring to Beaver is widened. The section from Beaver to South Eisenhower Drive will be an all-new roadway along an all-new route.

“Excited is an understatement,” Raleigh County Commission President Greg Duckworth said. “This initiative doesn’t just represent the commitment to improving our infrastructure, but a pathway to a brighter and more prosperous future for all of us.”