Virginia looking at extending I-785 further north

[CanesFan27]

In trying to catch up on google news alerts, I came across this note today.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=111&typ=bil&val=HB2481

Reads:
"Summary as introduced:
Designating a portion of U.S. Route 29 as Interstate 785.  Designates U.S. Route 29 from the Virginia-North Carolina line to north of the Town of Altavista as Interstate 785. The bill provides that such designation shall not take effect until the Virginia Department of Transportation consults with the Federal Highway Administration to identify any steps that need to be taken along the designated route to meet federal interstate standards, and VDOT shall report to the Joint Commission on Transportation Accountability the steps that need to be taken for such designation by December 1, 2011."

Currently, it is in the VA House Transportation Subcommittee.

Obviously upgrades would be needed on the non-limited access portions between Danville and Chatham and Chatham and Hurt/Altavista.

(Cue the extend I-83'ers...in 3...2...1)

[froggie]

It should be noted that the Delegate who introduced the bill represents a district that includes Danville, southern Pittsylvania County, and even over towards Martinsville.  The co-sponsors districts cover all the rest of Pittsylvania County.

I don't see this going anywhere.  VDOT is broke, as most well know.  The House Republicans won't agree to anything that would significantly increase revenue.  And FHWA guidelines wouldn't even accept Altavista as an Interstate terminus.  It'd have to be Lynchburg or bust.

[Eth]

And FHWA guidelines wouldn't even accept Altavista as an Interstate terminus.  It'd have to be Lynchburg or bust.

Tell that to Georgia.  Altavista has about five times the population of Ball Ground (northern terminus of I-575).  (Even if you want to argue that it's "close enough" to Canton, I'm fairly sure there wasn't much difference from present-day Altavista at the time of construction.)

[froggie]

There's a difference.  I-575 was "chargeable" Interstate, in that the original Interstate construction program (and its amendments through 1978) funded it.  I-785, because it is much newer, falls under "non-chargeable".  Which means NCDOT/VDOT can't use Interstate Maintenance funds to build it. And means that it has to have logical termini.  The way FHWA defines "logical termini", your choices for I-785 terminus are basically Danville or Lynchburg...nothing in between.

[CanesFan27]

My thinking is that Virginia will eventually want to extended I-785 to Lynchburg, and this is the first step.  There are/were plans to continue the US 29 Lynchburg/Madison Heights Bypass south and west to US 29 to somewhere around VA 24. 

I have no idea the status of the southern end of the Lynchburg/Madison Heights bypass is.

[Henry]

All the more reason to remake this into I-83, if/when they can figure out a new routing around Baltimore.

BTW, why did they go with 785, when better choices like 185, 385 and 585 are still available?

[dfilpus]

All the more reason to remake this into I-83, if/when they can figure out a new routing around Baltimore.

BTW, why did they go with 785, when better choices like 185, 385 and 585 are still available?

At one time, there were proposals for I 185 in NC (now proposed as I 285) and I 385 in Virginia. This does leave 585.

[VaF]

It should be noted that the Delegate who introduced the bill represents a district that includes Danville, southern Pittsylvania County, and even over towards Martinsville.  The co-sponsors districts cover all the rest of Pittsylvania County.

I don't see this going anywhere.  VDOT is broke, as most well know.  The House Republicans won't agree to anything that would significantly increase revenue.  And FHWA guidelines wouldn't even accept Altavista as an Interstate terminus.  It'd have to be Lynchburg or bust.

That's true... I was looking at that huge spreadsheet that VDOT released of projects to be executed should Gov. McDonnell get his $4b in bonds and the only things I saw in the way of new roads projects were funding for the Coalfields Expressway and some PE for I-73. Most everything else is improvements/enhancements to existing infrastructure.

[rickmastfan67]

All the more reason to remake this into I-83, if/when they can figure out a new routing around Baltimore.

BTW, why did they go with 785, when better choices like 185, 385 and 585 are still available?

At one time, there were proposals for I 185 in NC (now proposed as I 285) and I 385 in Virginia. This does leave 585.

Maybe they didn't want to have it confused with the I-585 in SC?  (Yeah, I know, it's a long distance between the two, but that's all I can think of why 785 > 585.)

[WillWeaverRVA]

Maybe they didn't want to have it confused with the I-585 in SC?  (Yeah, I know, it's a long distance between the two, but that's all I can think of why 785 > 585.)

Probably not seeing as NC is building an I-295, and there is an I-295 in VA (as well as in every other state I-95 passes through north of NC, except for PA, CT, and NH).

[Revive 755]

Maybe the number picker in NCDOT is a roadgeek and has dreams about getting some odd I-x85's south of I-40 (although I'm only seeing two likely candidate corridors right now - US 74 and US 321 - which still leaves one open).  Considering other routes NC has tried to make interstates such as I-795 and the US 1 freeway south of Raleigh . . .