Another 4 miles of widening coming to I-81 between Exits 221 and 225 in Staunton, for approximately $140 million.
VDOT Hosting Citizen Information Meeting August 24 for I-81 Widening Project in Augusta County
STAUNTON — The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a citizen information meeting for the planned widening of Interstate 81 in Augusta County near Staunton. The project would widen I-81 northbound and southbound to three lanes between exit 221 (I-64 interchange) and exit 225 (Route 262/Woodrow Wilson Parkway). The meeting will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 24, in the auditorium of the VDOT Staunton District office, 811 Commerce Road, Staunton, Virginia 24401.
The proposed project addresses existing and future capacity needs along I-81 northbound and southbound between mile marker 221.7 and 225.5. The project maintains roadway and bridge safety features, improves operational safety by adding I-81 capacity, improves travel reliability for the public, limits impacts to existing access ramps, and repairs or replaces deficient bridge components within the project.
Specific improvements include:
Addition of one lane in the northbound direction of I-81 from the Route 250 (Jefferson Highway) on-ramp at exit 222 to the Route 262 off-ramp at exit 225.
Addition of one lane in the southbound direction of I-81 from Route 262 south at exit 225 to approximately 1,200 feet south of the I-81 bridge over the I-81 southbound / I-64 eastbound ramp.
Widen, replace and/or repair deficient elements of existing bridges within the project limits.
Make sensible use of existing pavement and rights-of-way to accomplish the capacity improvements.
Maintain or enhance operational safety through improvements to signs and pavement markings.
The total estimated cost of the I-81 Staunton-area widening project is $140.2 million including $11.3 million for preliminary engineering, $2.7 million for right of way and $126.2 million for construction.
Additional information about the project is on the VDOT website at the following link:
[url]https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/staunton/interstate-81-staunton-area-widening.asp[/url].
The project is part of the I-81 Corridor Improvement Program (CIP), which aims to improve safety, increase reliability and foster economic growth along the 325-mile corridor. The I-81 CIP was approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board in December 2018. The $2 billion package of targeted improvements was funded by the Virginia General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam in spring 2019. More information about the program is available at Improve81.org.
It's nice to see these small projects push forward, but it's a shame there's no big widening program to get significant chunks at a time. We're seeing 4 miles here, 4 miles there, etc. to get done by 2030, and they're very costly on a per mile basis. Take a peek at something like
I-95 widening in North Carolina where they're doubling 50 miles worth of highway from 4 to 8 lanes before the end of the decade, and for only roughly $1 billion. This is the type of commitment that's needed for I-81, but unfortunately that's not the case.
Here's a couple examples of some "big" projects:
- 30 miles of widening between either end of I-64.
- 26 miles of widening between I-581 and US-460.
- 24 miles of widening between I-66 and West Virginia.
Those are just some ideas. They're big investments, but would definitely pay off in the long term. For improvements coming from a program that's using increased taxes and bonds to help fund these individual projects, you'd think more progress would be shown. There's not even plans to expand beyond the small sections identified in the program, let alone any funding sources.