Members of the I-81 Advisory Committee from across the Commonwealth gathered in Lexington on December 13, 2024 to discuss the status of the I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan (the Plan). The role of the Committee is to advise or make any recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) regarding the Plan. The meeting was positive in that updates to Interstate-81, and other related modes of transportations along the corridor, are being completed in a reasonable time frame and the projects have the necessary funding to support not only the current Plan but to support additional projects.
The success of Interstate 81 is critical to the success of western Virginia and the Commonwealth as a whole. I-81 is the main artery of transportation through this area and sees $312 billion in goods while also accounting for 42% of Virginia’s interstate truck vehicle miles traveled. During the last meeting of the Committee in October of 2023, there were 34 completed projects in total with 6 projects in the construction phase. To date, there have been 35 completed projects in total with 16 projects currently under construction, including:
- Road widening (6 projects, scheduled completion date by 2031)
- Acceleration & Deceleration Extensions (3 projects, TBD)
- Additional truck climbing lane (4 projects, 2 scheduled completion date in 2025 and the other 2 in 2028)
- Auxiliary Lane (3 under construction, TBD)
In total there are, as of now, 14 remaining projects for the Plan and these are anticipated to be completed by 2035 or earlier. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff relayed to the Committee that operational improvements such as 42 VDOT signal improvements are completed while 46 are under construction. In addition, 112 Locality single improvements are underway and will be completed in 2025.
The financial overview of the I-81 Program was next on the agenda. After reviewing some history of the creation of funding opportunities for the Program, the general sense is that current revenue projections can support funding the completion of the current I-81 program by 2035 with some residual fund for other projects. New projections over the life of the current program will cost $3.6 billion through 2035. All debt that is issued through the life of the Program (municipal bonds and Transportation Infrastructure Financing Innovation Act) will be supported by the I-81 Regional Fuels Tax. The presentation also covered additional funding that has recently been provided to the Plan including:
- $70 million of General Fund from the first year (FY 2025) which was included in the Chapter 2 Budget Bill passed in 2024
- $42 million from a federal infrastructure grant
- $175 million in General Fund surplus from FY 24 to continue advancement of projects in the Corridor Plan (This funding was included in the Governors’ 2025 budget bill but is still subject to approval by the General Assembly)
VDOT finance staff also give an extended financial outlook for the I-81 Program. Overall, VDOT staff indicated that after funding the existing I-81 Plan and four additional projects, there are remaining revenue capacities starting FY 2033 to support more projects. The 2018 Corridor Improvement Plan (CIP) identified 106 projects for consideration and ultimately 64 projects were prioritized for funding. There were five additional candidate projects that were identified beyond the original 64 and these are the most complex and highest risk segments of the remaining capital projects from the CIP. The CTB took action to add one of the additional candidate projects to the SYIP (southbound widening between Exits 137 to 128.) VDOT staff has indicated there are enough residual funds to be able to advance these other four additional projects with a current cost estimate of $656 million and could be completed by the mid-2030s.
In accordance with the §33.2-3604, Code of Virginia, relevant agencies will begin the process of updating the Corridor Improvement Plan beginning this year. Since the current financial outlook allows for additional projects for inclusion in the program, the Advisory Committee along with these relevant agencies will begin to identify a new tranche of I-81 projects to be added to the program.
The next topic of discussion was the I-81 Multimodal Improvement Plan which highlighted updates and information regarding Virginia Breeze. Virginia Breeze is the State-sponsored intercity bus service that runs 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It currently services two routes that use Interstate-81, the Blacksburg to Washington, D.C. route (Valley Flyer) and the Bristol to Washington, D.C. route (Highlands Rhythm). The Virginia Breeze is a low-cost mode of transportation to connect rural communities to other parts of the Commonwealth. Staff from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) stated that the Virginia Breeze service performs very well. DRPT announced that a new route is currently under development which would link I-64 to I-81 with proposed stops in many localities along the I-64 corridor. The anticipated launch date for this route is October 2025. The full presentation on Virginia Breeze by DRPT may be found here.
The last presentation was from staff at the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA). The focus was an update on the New River Valley passenger rail agreement between Norfolk Southern and the VPRA. In summary the new agreement executed in August 2024 as opposed to the original 2022 agreement is:
- Faster – service expands to New River Valley two years sooner than 2022 deal
- Cheaper – saves the Commonwealth over $100m
- Better service – New Bedford service and opens possibility for Radford service and third Roanoke train
- More favorable to expansion – Locates passenger rail station on the mainline to Bristol, reducing future cost of potential southwest expansion by avoiding costly tunnel upgrades
- More control: Dispatch and control of Manassas Line brings the ability to add weekend and night Virginia Railway Express service
The 2024 agreement is expected to cost the VPRA $444 million.
Regarding general business of the I-81 Advisory Committee, the meeting was chaired by Delegate Terry Austin (HD-37). Near the end of the meeting, Delegate Austin recommended that Senator Mark Obenshain (SD-2) be elected Chair of the Committee. Delegate Austin was then elected Vice Chair. VACo Second Vice President and member of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, Phil North, also attended the meeting as a member of the I-81 Advisory Committee.
VACo staff would like to thank Delegate Austin for his work and leadership as Chair of the Committee these past few years. Meeting materials from the December 13th meeting may be found here and the I-81 Improvement Program website can be found here. The entire recorded meeting and public comment section may be accessed here.
VACo Contact: James Hutzler