Construction contract awarded to widen I-81 near Strasburg

STRASBURG, Va. (WHSV) – VDOT announced a $58.6 million construction contract for a project to widen four miles of southbound Interstate 81 near Strasburg. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) awarded the contract to Shirley Contracting Company LLC of Lorton, Virginia.

A third southbound lane will be added between Exit 300 in Warrn County and Exit 296 in Shenandoah County. The project will also replace the southbound Cedar Creek Bridge, widen the CSX Railroad Bridge and add a one-mile sound barrier wall along northbound I-81 just south of Exit 296.

“The main goal here is to help improve safety, reduce congestion and smooth traffic flow on these busy sections of I-81. This is just one of those projects that does that,” said Ken Slack, VDOT Staunton County communications specialist.

The project is part of the Interstate 81 corridor improvement program.

“Planning for this particular project began with our 2018 study. We’ve spent almost all of this year working with the public and traffic engineers to really identify some of the hot spots on Route 81, areas where there are higher rates of accidents or higher levels of congestion. This is one of the potential projects that came up and was included,” Slack said.

Slack noted that other similar projects along I-81 in the region include truck lift lanes to be built in the Weyers Cave area, construction expanding north and southbound lanes in the Staunton area, and future plans to widen the interstate in the Harrisonburg area.

“These are all pieces of the puzzle that will ultimately really help unlock I-81 to improve safety, increase traffic flow and bring economic development to that part of the state as well,” Slack said.

Slack said the widening project should not cause major traffic delays in the Strasbourg area.

“In certain areas of the project there may be individual lane closures at certain stages, mainly at night, but in many cases the work will take place behind concrete barriers. For most of this project, you just have to zip up your shoulders 24/7,” he said.

Construction work will begin in early 2025 and is expected to be completed by autumn 2028.