The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!
I've never driven US 220 through there so I'm wondering if an interstate is even needed there.
I-99... the Glen Quagmire of interstate routes??
I think I-73 is better served on the US 23 corridor and besides I think we have enough interstates gobbling up US 220 as it is. Is there a conspiracy to get rid of US 220?
State transportation officials have approved an alternate route for Interstate 73 through Henry County that would move the highway closer to Martinsville, local industrial parks and a major tourist attraction ... The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) on Wednesday adopted a resolution favoring the I-73 Henry County Alternative (HCA) in a unanimous vote. The route will move on to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for consideration of final approval, according to Salem District CTB member Dana Martin, who presented the resolution for consideration ... Specifically, the resolution calls for I-73’s alignment to be shifted from the corridor already approved to the HCA, said Jason Bond, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Salem District office ... Compared to a route that already had been adopted, he said, the alternate route would be “more valuable” in economic development efforts and would save money on construction since it uses part of an existing highway ... The alternate route runs slightly east of Martinsville, follows the alignment of the U.S. 58 bypass for five miles and includes seven interchanges. That is two more interchanges than a route already approved by the CTB that would take the interstate a little farther east ... VDOT officials have said the bypass will be upgraded to interstate standards if the alternate route is used for I-73 ... The alternate route begins at Virginia 108/890 near Figsboro and basically runs south to Virginia 87 southeast of Ridgeway, where it ties back into the corridor that the CTB already had approved ... Neither Martin nor Bond had an idea of how long it will take the FHWA to consider the route. Bond said that will depend on how much information on the project that the FHWA requests from VDOT and how long it takes the federal agency to study the information ... FHWA officials in Washington could not be reached for comment Thursday night ...
VA CTB has approved the Henry County Alternative and consideration of that alternative now moves on to the FHWA
...The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration on Dec. 21 issued a “Finding of No Significant Impact” on the environment with the Henry County alternate route for the interstate.The alternate route runs from Virginia 890/108, near Figsboro, around the east side of Martinsville to Virginia 87 near Ridgeway, according to the statement issued Dec. 21 by Irene Rico, division administrator for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ....The highway administration concluded that the alternate route for I-73 “will not have any significant impact on the environment not already considered in the Environmental Impact Statement.” ....Jason Bond, Salem District spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said Friday the Finding of No Significant Impact “completes the environmental assessment work for the corridor” of I-73, and “it means that design work could proceed if funding were available.” In addition to the $8.5 million that has been allocated, an estimated $12.9 million more is needed to start the design phase, according to previous reports ....
Enlarging the 6.5-mile section of Interstate 73 identified as a priority by the Henry County Board of Supervisors may give the project a better chance of getting funds, according to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials.A recently approved county resolution asks VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to start and fund the first leg of I-73. The 6.5-mile section from the Patriot Centre industrial park to the U.S. 58 bypass was identified in the resolution as the first priority project.But the 6.5-mile prioritized section must be “part of a larger section that is either in the works or planned” to be considered to receive a federal earmark, Jason Bond of VDOT said.Bond, who is the communications manager for the Salem District of VDOT, along with Robert Cary, district administrator; Thomas Digiulian, assistant district administrator; and Lisa Price-Hughes, resident engineer, recently discussed the I-73 project in depth.Bond said the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) looks at projects to “ensure there is connectivity” so the section of road being built would connect with another portion and/or function independently “as a link in the overall chain.” Digiulian suggested adding another approximately 10 miles to the priority section to connect it to U.S. 220, even though doing so will add to the cost of the project. No cost estimate was available.The added segment would start at the northern part of the section listed as the county’s priority (the Patriot Centre) and continue for roughly for 10 miles to connect to U.S. 220 in Franklin County, according to Bond and Digiulian ....
A member of the Henry County Board of Supervisors attended a public hearing in Roanoke on Tuesday to support funding for construction of Interstate 73. Iriswood District Supervisor Milton Kendall said he attended the Commonwealth Transportation Board’s public hearing on the Six-Year Plan as a representative of the supervisors to “advocate for the construction of” I-73 in Henry County. “On behalf of the board, I encourage you to give I-73, and the residents of Henry County, the attention they deserve,” Kendall told the CTB .... Kendall reminded the CTB that the Federal Highway Administration recently issued a “Finding of No Significant Impact,” or FONSI, for the Alternative Route of I-73 through Henry County. “That means we are ready to move forward with this life-changing” project, he said. “We just need someone to pay for it.” The Henry County Alternative Route calls for construction of I-73 to begin between the Patriot Centre industrial park and the U.S. 58 Bypass and continue south to the North Carolina line, with an interchange near Martinsville Speedway ....“I think it’s important to put your request in. If we don’t ask, we’ll never get anything, so I took a shot,” Kendall said. After all, he added, “it can’t hurt.”
Good! They should include that on their six-year plan. Even if I-73 temporarily ends at the Martinsville Speedway interchange, it opens the door for extension to Roanoke easily. NC is already having the section of US 220 from VA state line to NC 68 funded to be upgraded to I-73 in a couple of years, so hopefully VA can start on their section too!
That's so great to hear! By 2030, we should be able to drive from Roanoke to Greensboro nonstop, if not all the way to Myrtle Beach.