News and Views

VBT Blog Post : 81 Reasons to Fix I-81

It’s time to fix I-81 because…

1. … I-81 is congested.
2. … the highway is outdated and now exceeds the capacity it was built for by 50%.
3. … Virginians want safe and easy access to the Shenandoah National Park. 
4. … the more than 54,000 residents of Harrisonburg deserve a safe interstate.
5. … it is one of the top eight trucking routes in the United States.
6. … at least half of all Virginia college students and their families use 81.
7. … it has the lowest proportion of recurring delays and the highest proportion of incident delays. 
8. … it serves as an access road to Massanutten Resort.
9. … I-81 is unreliable for freight travel. 
10. … at 325 miles, I-81 is the longest highway within the borders of Virginia.
11. … the loss of just one lane on the interstate cuts highway capacity by 65%.
12. … Virginia Tech, Virginia’s third largest university, depends on it.
13. … traffic has more than doubled along 81 in the past 20 years and tripled in urban areas.
14. … VDOT is contributing what it has available for I-81, but it simply isn’t enough. 
15. … approximately 30 truck crashes each year take more than 6 hours to clear.
16. … James Madison University students rely on it. 
17. … it serves as a key bypass for I-95 in the east. 
18. … by 2040 there are expected to be nearly 20 million truck trips carrying three quarters of a trillion dollars of goods on the highway each year. 
19. … it provides access to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke.
20. … speaking about the current condition of roads in Southwest Virginia, former Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne said, “limited resources have consequences.”
21. … more than $2 billion has been identified in immediate capacity improvement needs.
22. … when there is a college graduation or other major event along the corridor, the whole interstate gets backed up for hours.
23. … Radford students rely on it.
24. … approximately 11,000 crashes have occurred on I-81 over five years. 
25. … the majority of the interstate is only two lanes in each direction. 
26. … the more than 24,000 residents of Staunton deserve a reliable interstate.
27. … Virginia contains the longest section of Interstate 81 of the six states the highway connects. 
28. … the route connects 30 colleges and universities in Virginia.
29. … the average daily volume near Staunton is currently 61,939 with 28% trucks. 
30. … it leads to Dinosaur Land in White Post.
31. … 11.7 million trucks travel on I-81 each year.
32. … western Virginia can’t grow without necessary infrastructure improvements.
33. … in its 60-year history, I-81 has never had a dedicated funding source for transportation improvements.  
34. … the students and staff of the Virginia Military Institute rely on it. 
35. … I-81 is dangerous, and drivers feel unsafe.
36. … there are 2,000 crashes per year on the interstate.  
37. … in 2013, the legislature established dedicated transportation funding sources for Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. As a result, those areas have reduced congestion and improved connectivity. It’s Western Virginia’s turn now.
38. … nearly half of all goods transported in Virginia are carried on I-81.
39. … in 1998, VDOT completed 10 feasibility studies which showed at least three lanes are needed in each direction. 
40. … the nearly 100,000 residents of Roanoke deserve an efficient interstate.
41. … I-81 needs 10x the amount of transportation funding than what is available. 
42. … it provides access to the Natural Bridge State Park. 
43. … it contains 90 interchanges in Virginia.
44. … 51% of all traffic delays on I-81 are caused by incidents, compared to 16% statewide.  
45. … 26% of all crashes involve trucks, the highest percentage for any interstate in Virginia.
46. … Shenandoah University students rely on it. 
47. … 48 miles of I-81 are considered mountainous terrain which makes passing difficult and causes further backups. 
48. … complete widening is predicted to take 20 years and at least $3 billion to complete. 
49. … over the past 6 years, VDOT has been able to contribute approximately $200 million to improvements along the 325-mile corridor, the majority of which did not go to capacity improvements. 
50. … as an interstate, I-81 is necessary to support U.S. military operations. 
51. … it helps Virginians get to Lurray, Shenandoah and Endless Caverns.
52. … on Interstate 81, 50% of delays are caused by accidents, compared to only 16% statewide. 
53. … the more than 46,000 residents of Blacksburg deserve a working interstate.
54. … 48 miles of I-81 has grades greater than three percent, which is considered mountainous.
55. … 42% of all Virginia truck traffic travels on I-81.
56. … Washington & Lee students rely on it.
57. … Virginia leaders have neglected I-81 for too long.
58. … the route connects 21 cities and 13 counties.
59. … I-81 is currently under study to identify potential revenue sources that could be dedicated to improvements, as directed in Senate Bill 971.
60. … there is no long-term funding available to pay for the more than $2 billion in immediate capacity improvement needs.
61. … Eastern Mennonite University students rely on it.
62. … I-81 parallels and impacts the Appalachian Trail. 
63. … 60,000 vehicles travel on the highway every day.
64. … Interstate 81 is a critical corridor for the nation and the Mid-Atlantic region, connecting emerging regions with Virginia’s port and Northeast regions. 
65. … it provides access to The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs.
66. … throughout Virginia, I-81 ranges from 700 feet in elevation to nearly 2,600 feet in elevation, which can cause issues for drivers.
67. … there is roughly 65 miles of urban roadway and about 260 miles of rural roadway on I-81. Rural roads are often overlooked in transportation funding. 
68. … it is a component of the National Highway Freight Network’s Primary Highway Freight System, a network of highways identified as the most critical highway portions of the U.S. freight transportation system.
69. … the more than 27,000 residents of Winchester deserve a dependable interstate.
70. … I-81 affects the economic growth of western Virginia and the entire state. 
71. … it parallels and serves as an access road to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
72. … the Roanoke area, which has the highest crash density along I-81, should be safer.
73. … as recently as 2018, the legislature passed up an opportunity to establish more funding. 
74. … 26% of all crashes involve trucks, the highest percentage for any interstate in Virginia.
75. … the students of Mary Baldwin College have to drive on it.
76. … I-81 was designed for a volume of 10,180 vehicles per day with 14,4% trucks near Toms Brook, but in 2016, the average daily volume near Toms Brook was 47,947 vehicles with 25% trucks. 
77. … SB 583, which would create and fund the Western Virginia Transportation Commission, was carried over to next year. If passed, the gas tax would be raised to 2.1% in jurisdictions along the I-81 corridor, generating over $70 million a year to make transportation improvements along the corridor. If bonded, that revenue alone could generate a billion dollars of transportation improvements for the I-81 corridor.
78. … the route leads to George Washington National Forest, which combined with Jefferson National Forest, forms one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States.
79. … the more than 25,000 residents of Salem deserve a reliable highway.
80. … safety on I-81 has been a known concern for more than a decade. 
81. … Virginians are demanding it. Please see recent poll. 

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