Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030113
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The work will start near Elm Avenue, where three-lane Interstate 581 ends. The three-mile, $5.9 million project will end about 0.4 mile south of the intersection with Virginia 419 near Tanglewood Mall.
The new lanes will be built in the median strip of the expressway, which is also known as U.S. 220.
At its February meeting, the Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded a contract to Branch Highways Inc. of Roanoke to do the work. The construction is expected to last until late fall.
Branch's workers will begin placing survey lines for the project Sunday. Lanes may be closed temporarily on the expressway during that portion of work, but two lanes will be kept open in each direction during actual construction, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
Salem District Engineer Fred Altizer said in a news release that the work will be done "at the least possible inconvenience to drivers."
The expressway carries 60,000 vehicles a day, more than any other four-lane highway west of Richmond, Altizer said. The road has been the scene of dozens of accidents, including at least eight fatalities since 1991.
The addition of the new lanes on the expressway is one of three major road projects planned in the Roanoke Valley this year. Work should begin this spring on widening the Interstate 81 bridge over Mason Creek between exits 140 and 141.
After this summer, motorists can say goodbye to the "thumpety-thump" of the concrete pavement on I-81 in Botetourt County. It will be paved over with asphalt.
by CNB