While many activities in the Roanoke Valley may have slowed or stopped due to COVID-19, transportation projects located in Roanoke County are moving full steam ahead.
Below is an update on the current projects Roanoke County staff, in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), have been working on.
- To relieve a major source of area congestion, Interstate 81 is currently being widened to three lanes in each direction between Exit 141 and Exit 143. Investigations are also beginning for the next phase of interstate widening to Mile Marker 136. Near Exit 141, a roundabout is in design to replace the traffic signal located at the Route 419 and Route 311 intersection. This project will reduce backups at this busy bottleneck with construction expected next year.
- In the Hollins area, a new traffic signal is under construction, and pedestrian signals and crosswalks will connect the existing shared use path across Plantation Road near Wells Fargo. The Plantation Road Project is also making great progress with intersection improvements and pedestrian signals.
- Along the County’s busiest corridor, Route 419/Electric Road, construction will begin this summer on a project to widen the road to three lanes between Ogden Road and the Route 220 South off ramp. Sidewalks, pedestrian crosswalks, bicycle lanes and a bus shelter will also be included as part of this multimodal project. Traffic signals along Route 419 have recently been coordinated to help move vehicles along the corridor.
- The VDOT recently completed a years-long project to replace the Route 116/Jae Valley Road bridge over Back Creek.
- Challenger Avenue traffic signals in Roanoke County have been coordinated with Orange Avenue traffic signals in the City of Roanoke. Allowing these signals to talk to each other should keep vehicles moving along the corridor on green cycles with less waiting at red lights.
- Sidewalks will be installed along Route 11/West Main Street later this year between the City of Salem and Technology Drive at Valley Tech Park. This project also includes the installation of pedestrian signals and crosswalks.
For additional information on the above projects as well as many more funded projects in development, see our Transportation Story Map at www.RoanokeCountyVA.Gov/TSM.
