VDOT will be working on a bridge overpass on Interstate 81 in Augusta County for three nights next week, which will require overnight closures, detours and slow-roll traffic control.
VDOT contractors are constructing a new Route 635 (Barterbrook Road) bridge over the interstate near mile marker 221 in the Staunton area.
A slow roll is a traffic management operation where a traffic gap is created by reducing approaching traffic speeds to as low as 10 mph. This gap allows work, such as bridge beam placement, to safely take place free of live traffic. Traffic can also be temporarily stopped and held by a lead vehicle in each lane.
Signs and digital message boards will advise motorists of the closures and associated detour routes.
The details
Monday night (Aug. 12)
- Between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., southbound I-81 will close periodically for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Virginia State Police will manage slow-roll traffic control (rolling roadblocks) on southbound I-81 between exits 225 and 220, and on westbound I-64 between exit 91 and the I-81 interchange.
- Motorists should also be alert for southbound left-lane closures from 8-11 p.m. Monday night, and from 5-7 a.m. early Tuesday morning.
Tuesday night (Aug. 13)
- From 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., northbound I-81 will be fully closed. During this time, northbound I-81 drivers will detour at exit 220 onto Route 262 (Woodrow Wilson Parkway) around Staunton, and rejoin I-81 at exit 225. Northbound I-81 drivers who need to access I-64 eastbound at exit 221 will follow the detour route, then take I-81 southbound to exit 221.
- Motorists should also be alert for northbound left-lane closures from 8-11 p.m. Tuesday night, and from 5-7 a.m. early Wednesday morning.
Wednesday night (Aug. 14)
- From 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., northbound I-81 will be fully closed. During this time, northbound I-81 drivers will detour at exit 220 onto Route 262 (Woodrow Wilson Parkway) around Staunton, and rejoin I-81 at exit 225. Northbound I-81 drivers who need to access I-64 eastbound at exit 221 will follow the detour route, then take I-81 southbound to exit 221.
- Motorists should also be alert for northbound right-lane closures from 8-11 p.m. Wednesday night, and from 5-7 a.m. early Thursday morning.
Basics on the project
The Route 635 overpass bridge replacement is part of a project to construct a new auxiliary lane on southbound I-81 between exit 221 (I-64 junction) and exit 220 (Route 262 south). Route 635 in the area of the bridge over I-81 is closed through mid-2025 due to the bridge replacement.
Detour routes and information are on the VDOT project page.
The I-81 southbound auxiliary lane and Route 635 bridge replacement project is part of the I-81 Corridor Improvement Program, to improve safety, increase reliability and foster economic growth along the 325-mile corridor in Virginia.
Additional information about the program is at Improve81.org.
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Chris Graham
