U.S. 460 cell towers signal relief to businesses

Buchanan and Tazewell counties’ businesses will soon receive a needed signal boost, thanks to six cell towers under construction across the Route 460 corridor. The towers will increase wireless access along 20 miles of U.S. 460, from Red Ash in Tazewell to Vansant in Buchanan. It’s not a moment too soon, according to businesses that suffer daily from challenges caused by the current coverage gap.

“This four-lane highway provides access to two of our major industrial parks, as well as multiple town centers. When this new infrastructure is in place, these sites will become more marketable and the region [will be] more attractive to new business and industry,” Scotty Wampler, co-executive director of the Virginia Coalfield Coalition, which is responsible for the project, said in an email.

Upon completion of the six-tower Route 460 project, the VCC will have built a total of 17 towers throughout Southwest Virginia over a dozen-plus years.

Funding for the $3.6 million wireless project was secured from multiple sources, including the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, The Thompson Charitable Foundation and the Virginia Department of Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization program.

Cell coverage gaps have cost the 3,000-acre Southern Gap Business Park potential tenants, says Matthew Fields, executive director of the Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority, which owns the park. “This cell tower project is going to be a great recruiting tool for the park. If you’re trying to show property to prospects and they’re not able to make a call or get a text out, or you can’t reach them to give directions, they’re going to write us off immediately,” says Fields.

Paul’s Fan Co., which manufactures, installs and services ventilation systems throughout North America, is one such Southern Gap tenant. “We really, really need the help here in Southwest Virginia; not having cell coverage really affects our productivity,” says Todd Elswick, the company’s president. “We have trucks coming in and out; these drivers cannot find us because of the lack of good GPS, and then they have no way to communicate with us when they’re here because of the lack of cell coverage.”

Tazewell County’s Bluestone Business and Technology Park is the other industrial park affected.

Construction on all six towers, including service activation, should be complete by fall 2025, according to Wampler.