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The Virginia Department of Transportation released the following announcement: Beginning April 1, southbound Route 220 traffic in Botetourt County north of Fincastle will be detoured for an estimated 10 to 14 days due to ongoing work to replace a damaged section of pipe near Route 220’s intersection with Route 679 (Peck Road/Martins Lane).
All southbound traffic will use a signed detour: Mary Alice Road to West Wind Road to Old Fincastle Road to return to Route 220. Residents along the detour route will be able to access their homes. Drivers should expect delays and heavier traffic on secondary roads in the vicinity of the closure.
Tractor-trailers and large industrial vehicles should avoid southbound Route 220 and seek alternate routes such as Interstate 64 and Interstate 81.
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Northbound Route 220 traffic will remain shifted into a single lane with the speed limit reduced to 35 mph.
Crews with the Virginia Department of Transportation continue to work to replace a 110-foot section of pipe that was destroyed beneath northbound Route 220 when a tanker overturned and caught fire on February 20.
A replacement pipe has been assembled and now must be joined to the old section of pipe beneath southbound Route 220. To make the connection, workers will be excavating, placing concrete footers and installing a steel splice joint beneath the inside southbound lane. During the excavation and construction, it is not safe for vehicles to be traveling on the lane.
Once the pipe connection is complete, the southbound detour will be removed and Route 220 traffic will return to a two-way pattern with one lane open in each direction.
After the southbound Route 220 detour is removed, the Virginia Department of Transportation is estimating another four to six weeks before the northbound lanes of Route 220 are repaired and all four lanes are open to traffic.