Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410140094
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Virginia Department of Transportation will widen the Roy Webber Highway from four lanes to six beginning early next year. The project will give the Interstate 581/U.S. 220 corridor a six-lane expressway all the way from Interstate 81 to Virginia 419.
The $7.4 million road widening will begin in the spring and is scheduled to be complete by early 1996, said Scott Hodge, assistant resident engineer for VDOT's Salem district.
When finished, the 2.9-mile stretch of U.S. 220 that now is two lanes in each direction will be three lanes in each direction between the bridges over Walnut Avenue and 419.
The new lanes will be built in the grassy median, and a raised barrier will be erected between them. VDOT also will lengthen the exit ramp onto southbound 220 from 419.
Unlike many road projects for which the city pays a 2 percent share, VDOT will pay for 100 percent of the widening, because the highway is part of Virginia's arterial road system.
As recently as a year ago, VDOT officials said they had no plans for major improvements to the expressway. City Council last January requested that its widening be made a top priority. City Traffic Engineer Bob Bengtson informed VDOT of the city's request during a road planning conference in April.
As a result, VDOT included it in a list of tentative projects this year, then accelerated the scheduled completion date from 2000 to 1996.
"A big portion of the [decision] was needs," Hodge said. "The volumes on the 220 expressway are running about 50,000 cars per day."
The twisting highway, which isn't built to the same standards as I-581, has been the site of at least 174 accidents since 1991. Eight people have died, mostly from wrecks caused by speed and drunken driving.
The worst of those accidents occurred May 16, 1993, when a driver crossed the median and plowed into an oncoming car, killing three people.
Part of the cause of the accidents could be the way the highway changes, said Laura Bullock, a VDOT spokeswoman.
Between I-81 and Elm Avenue, I-581 is built to interstate standards. That means it is less curvy, flatter and has wider lanes and shoulders. It's also three lanes in each direction.
South of Elm, where the interstate ends, the artery is built to state highway standards. But drivers don't always slow down at the expressway's beginning, even though the the lanes and shoulders are narrower and the curves tighter.
"It's engineered extremely differently from the interstate," Bullock said. ``In my opinion, that's a major cause of the accidents.''
VDOT will solicit bids for the project in December or January. Because the new lanes will be built in the median, the agency won't have to buy much land to complete the project, keeping the cost down.
While it's under construction, drivers on the expressway can expect delays, Hodge said. VDOT will make every effort to keep two lanes open in each direction, although "there's a great potential traffic will be slowed," Hodge said.
Most of the groundwork for the project will be complete by November of next year, Hodge said. But VDOT agreed to delay laying the final surface until spring of 1996 so the construction won't interfere with motorists driving to Towers Shopping Center and Tanglewood Mall during the 1995 Christmas shopping season.
by CNB