Transportation Board considers I-81 expansion
Possible plan call for addition of toll lanes for 18-wheelers
By Jordan Funderburk, contributing writer
Posted on September 28, 2006

Construction along Interstate 81 may be hitting Harrisonburg within the next two years, according to Commonwealth Transportation Board officials, who concluded that traffic congestion has and will continue to be a big issue.

Proposals were struck down and new ones were brought up last week, as the board decided how to answer the data recently released on I-81’s traffic patterns. The previous plan for the area had been new truck lanes running the whole length of the interstate. This long-standing proposal was dismissed last week since the costs were estimated to be around $11 billion.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer said,  “A border-to-border, one-size-fits-all answer is not the solution for I-81.” However, three new changes have been suggested and will be decided upon Oct. 11.

The first would be to immediately add truck-climbing lanes to congested and hilly parts of I-81. These lanes would allow trucks the lanes needed to accelerate up hills without slowing down traffic behind them. While specific locations for these lanes have not been voted upon yet, Harrisonburg will most likely come to the board’s attention.

“In Harrisonburg, obviously there are some of the worst places,” said James Davis, representative for the Staunton district on the transportation board. The board is hoping to allow for construction to begin as soon as possible.

Sophomore Tim Brandt agrees that this plan would be helpful to alleviate traffic.
“I think it’d be good to have the truck acceleration lanes,” he said. “It won’t be much, but it will just be the principal of it, and it will slow up traffic.”

The second area of improvement proposed would be to the on and off ramps along I-81. Recommendations on where to build ramps are coming mostly from the Federal Highway Administration, which is lending much of the funding for the projects. Over $100 million has been given from the federal government just for the truck-climbing lanes. The state legislature right now has $135 million for the projects, but Davis said they “hope the state legislature will allocate additional funds.”

The third proposal is geared mainly toward combating truck traffic. The I-81 Freight Line Study was launched in order to move more freight off the interstate and onto rail lines. These changes would eventually be all across I-81, and while slower to decrease congestion, would be just as beneficial as the immediate changes.

Harrisonburg’s rail lines will most likely be a primary target for changes, and increased flow on these lines could be imminent. “If we don’t [do something] it’s going to eventually be a truck road,” Davis said.

Truck driver Antwi Nekel said he wants the acceleration lanes for I-81. He’s also fine with more freight moving to rails.

“That’s OK,” Neckel said. “Either way, we got a job.”

Statistics on the traffic makeup of I-81 indicate that the ratio of trucks to general traffic has been increasing.

Traffic passing by Harrisonburg on I-81 is estimated to increase to 91,000 cars per day in 2035, compared to 49,400 in 2004. Truck numbers are expected to increase from 12,870 in 2004 to 30,330 in 2035.

The initial proposal of separate truck lines called for them to be toll lanes as well. In March 2003, the board applied to the FHA for the right to establish tollbooths along I-81.

While this was rejected previously, the current proposed changes match up with the required changes the FHA wants on I-81 in order to approve the tollbooths. While Davis said tolls may be added to the interstate, it would be much further along after the currently proposed changes were completed.

However, some students think changes to the interstate would pose a problem while the construction was being completed.

Sophomore Mike Bailey said, “If they plan on doing construction, it’s going to cause a lot of congestion on the highway, making travel difficult.”