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Interstate 81
Press Release, February 15, 2008
Depth of Opposition Grows to Massive 1-81 Widening
FHWA Amended Complaint
Press Release, February 1, 2008
I 81 Toll Restrictions Advance in Senate
Press Release, January 18, 2007
Valley Legislators Seek I-81 Toll Ban
Check Out Recent News on I-81 Plans
Roanoke Paper Runs Our Editorial Piece
Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation Makes Comments
Valley Resident & Cititzens Groups File Suit to Block I-81 Tolls & Excessive Widening
View press release
View legal complaint
A Shenandoah County resident and a coalition of conservation groups working in the northern Shenandoah Valley filed suit December 17 in federal district court to prevent the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration from implementing a plan to widen I-81 to eight or more lanes, an expansion to be funded by federal funds and tolls on cars and trucks.
County Board Chairmen Ask for Clarity: Are I-81 Safety Improvements Tied to Road Widening Plan? Click here to see the letter from the Chairs of the Augusta, Rockingham & Shenandoah Boards of Supervisors
Click here to see Sen. Jim Webb's letter to the Federal Highway Administration.
VDOT officials have told some local government leaders that the I-81 Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) cannot be reopened to address local concerns or it will delay all safety improvements to the highway. The Shenandoah Valley Network and Coalition for Smarter Growth reject that position, insisting that safety improvements have been identified since 1997 and are considered under a separate federal law than the Tier 1 FEIS for the corridor.The I-81 plan calls for widening the highway to eight or more lanes along 69 percent of the corridor and to at least six lanes everywhere else, at a cost of up to $11 billion, funded by tolls. Yet the Tier 1 FEIS fails to measure how such widening would impact historic and natural resources, local communities or local land use plans. Local governments and citizens groups have called for the Federal Highway Administration to withdraw its Record of Decision and require VDOT to reopen the I-81 Tier 1 FEIS to address these flaws and to reconsider lower impact, less costly alternatives, such as diversion of truck freight to rail, better local traffic improvements and increased speed limit enforcement.The chairmen of the Boards of Supervisors in three affected counties -- Nancy Taylor Sorrells of Augusta, William Kyger of Rockingham and Dick Neese of Shenandoah -- have written to the Virginia Congressional Delegation to ask federal officials to clarify that safety improvements on I-81 can move forward if the Tier 1 FEIS is reopened and revised. The letter, dated Nov. 26, was faxed to Senators Warner and Webb and Congressmen Boucher, Goodlatte and Wolf Nov. 29. It includes a draft letter the federal officer holders can send to Roberto Fonseca-Martinez, division adminstrator in Virginia for the Federal Highway Administration. We applaud Supervisors Sorrells, Kyger and Neese for their leadership on this issue.
Shenandoah County Calls on Governor to Reconsider I-81 Rail
See letter from Shenanandoah County Administrator
Read the SVN press release
Fact Sheet
VDOT PUSHES MASSIVE I-81,
Rejects Rail for Tolls and Highway Widening
There is now a clear choice regarding the future of I-81. Norfolk Southern has announced the $2 billion, multi-state I-81 Crescent Corridor plan to upgrade rail over the next seven years, which could divert one million trucks, including 750,000 trucks in Virginia, by 2012.Yet, VDOT plans for Virginians to pay more than $11 billion to widen I-81, expanding 69 percent of the corridor to eight lanes. Such a costly, unnecessary and unpopular expansion depends on tolls on both cars and trucks, at the expense of businesses and residents along the entire corridor.
Read our Latest Fact Sheet
Your Input Needed Again – Contact the Governor and other Key Officials
Ask Your Elected Officials to:
1. Pass new state legislation to ban tolls on I-81.
2. Pass a new state budget resolution to ban tolls on I-81 and limit spending to
specific highway safety and congestion improvements, not corridor widening.3. Call on the House Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, Governor and Commonwealth Transportation Board to require VDOT to reopen the I-81 FEIS to re-examine the rail option, based on the state study and Norfolk Southern projections. November 6 is the deadline to challenge FHWA approval of the I-81 FEIS4. Build alliances with the House and Senate caucuses from Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater to block the $11 billion widening of I-81, which, despite tolls, will divert major state transportation funds from those districts and from other needs in the Shenandoah Valley.5. Ask the Virginia Congressional delegation to block federal approval of I-81 in Virginia as the first pilot toll project in the nation on an existing interstate highway. DESPITE the record number of public comments VDOT received supporting:
- Specific road improvements to address high accident or congested areas Shifting long-distance freight on I-81 to modern intermodal rail Smarter land use and better local street networks.
- Protection of scenic beauty, historic battlefields and quality of life.
AND opposing 8-lanes and tolls…
VDOT’s and Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA)
Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)Proposes 8-lanes along almost the entire corridor with tolling options, while still opposing significant rail improvementsThis is Still as Bad as STAR Solution’s Truck LanesIt is Unacceptable, Unaffordable and Destructive
Immediate public action is needed to restore the Reasonable Solutions for I-81 supported by many local governments and community organizations in the Shenandoah Valley. Your help is vital!
- Most Essential: Contact the Governor and submit your comments to VDOT.Contact your State Delegate and Senator to intervene on behalf of your locality with VDOT, Governor Kaine and our Congressional delegation to make Reasonable Solutions the plan for I-81.
- Ask your Congressman and Senators to intervene with the FHWA and U.S. Secretary of Transportation to make Reasonable Solutions the plan for I-81.
Contact info for the first priorities Governor Kaine, VDOT, and FHWA:1. Governor Kaine (you must use the Governor’s web email system)2. VDOT and FHWA I-81 Project Managers: cg.collins@virginiadot.org; John.simkins@fhwa.dot.gov 3. Commonwealth Transportation Board Members from the I-81 Corridor:
Dr. James A. Davis, (Staunton District - Rockbridge County & north)
Dana M. Martin, (Salem District - Pulaski & Botetourt Counties)
Jim D. Bowie, (Bristol District - Wythe County and west) Batch emails for VDOT and CTB Members:
cg.collins@virginiadot.org; John.simkins@fhwa.dot.gov; Pres@su.edu; almart-dana@cox.net; JBowie@bvub.com For your Congressional member, State Senator and Delegate and other officials see our contact page.Talking points:* I (We) oppose VDOT’s proposal to widen almost the entire length of I-81 to 8-lanes and to pay for this using tolls. I also oppose the proposal for a Harrisonburg Bypass.
* VDOT ignored the record number of public comments that favor targeted safety and congestion improvements, significant investment in multi-state rail solutions, and local traffic and land us fixes.
* I (We) urge the Governor, elected officials, VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to reject VDOT’s Final Environmental Impact Statement, and
* I (We) urge VDOT to adopt the Reasonable Solutions alternative endorsed by 34 jurisdictions and groups.Read the July 2007 Fact Sheet with More Talking Points Read the May 2007 Fact Sheet Read SVN and the Coalition for Smarter Growth's Comments on VDOT's Current Plan _
A VDOT image of a potential 10-lane
cloverleaf interchange on I-81.
See More Maps and Images
News
SVN
and Partners Send Letter on I-81 to Governor Kaine Read
Virginia Conservation Groups Advocate for Transportation Reform in VA
Read
LetterClick
here for Current Newspaper
Articles on I-81.
What
can you do?
Ask
Your Local & State Officials
to Support Reasonable Solutions for I-81. Comment
online
to VDOT. Learn
more
about the proposal from SVN's new fact sheet read
