Interstate 81 to get extra truck lane north of Lexington

Leaders break ground on a project that will affect everyone who drives up Interstate 81.  This marks the start of construction for a new truck climbing lane in Rockbridge County from just north of Lexington to two miles north of Fairfield.

Superintendent of State Police Colonel Steve Flaherty says this is one of most dangerous stretches of road in Virginia because of the steep hills.

“We have a number of rear end collisions here where people miss judge the slower speed of the vehicle trying to pull the grade,” said Flaherty.

The new truck climbing lane will be similar to the one at mile marker 184.  As trucks come up the hill, they’ll move over to the right two lanes, which will allow other drivers to pass on the left.

The federal government is paying for the $74 million project through a transportation bill.  Congressman Bob Goodlatte says he made a big push for the bill because of safety concerns on I-81.

“It’s going to make the highway safer because when one truck going 55 miles an hour is passed by another one going 56 miles an hour, and all the rest of the traffic is moving faster and piles up behind them, safety issues arise,” said Goodlatte.

This stretch of road sees an average of one truck every ten seconds, in each direction.  Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer says when the project is completed, drivers will have a smoother ride up the interstate.

“It will allow people to concentrate on routine driving as opposed to the extraordinary circumstances where a truck on a steep grade might slow down sharply,” said Homer.

A VDOT spokeswoman says two northbound lanes will stay open during construction and should not effect daily traffic flow.  Construction is scheduled to be completed in October of 2012.

The transportation bill that’s funding the project approved $141 million for highway improvements.  There is also money in that bill to add a truck climbing lane on I-81 in Montgomery County from Ironto to Christiansburg.