The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has awarded a $4.89 million contract to Branch Civil Inc. of Roanoke for a project to improve safety and reduce congestion at the Troutville Rest Area on southbound I-81 near mile marker 158 in Botetourt County.
This project will extend the ramp into out of the rest area. Work is expected to begin in spring 2022 and be completed in early fall.
The existing ramps at this rest area are very short. Extending them will improve safety by providing motorists more space to accelerate or decelerate. The off ramp into the rest area will be extended approximately 500 feet and the ramp onto southbound I-81 will be extended approximately 2,100 feet. The project also includes expanding the truck parking area at the facility by about 10-13 spaces.
Visitors to the rest area may see some preliminary work, such as drainage improvements, as early as this spring. However, the major construction will begin after Memorial Day, and the rest area facility, ramps and parking lot will be closed to the public from late May until early September.
This project is a part of the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Program that was approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board in 2018 and funded by the Virginia General Assembly in 2019. This diverse, multimodal package includes more than $2 billion in focused improvements that will reduce congestion and substantially improve safety and reliability on I-81 in Virginia.
More information about the I-81 Corridor Improvement Program is available at Improve81.org. VDOT has produced a podcast and a video to provide more information about the Troutville Rest Area ramp extension project. These can be found on the News Multimedia page of Improve81.org.