Completion of Smart Road still anyone’s guess
A 2012 aerial photo of the Smart Road. Rebecca Barnett | The Roanoke Times
CHRISTIANSBURG — This year’s General Assembly session kicked off with an uproar about transportation funding — but with little apparent notice for Montgomery County’s long-held hope for the completion of the Smart Road, observers said.
“There’s currently no funding in the Six Year Plan to complete the road over to [Interstate] 81,” Jason Bond, spokesman for the state highway department’s Salem district office, said Wednesday.
That was the day the General Assembly began this year’s session and a day after Gov. Bob McDonnell unveiled a plan to overhaul the way Virginia pays for transportation.
Del. Joseph Yost, R-Blacksburg, said Friday that while he knew Montgomery County had again requested the completion of the Smart Road, it was not something anyone was actively working on, as far as he knew.
In October, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors voted on a list of road priorities that included improvements along Virginia 8 and Virginia 114, upgrades to the park and ride lot at I-81’s Exit 118, and completion of the Smart Road.
Constructed at a cost of $50.1 million with an array of sensors in its pavement and with towers that can produce fog and snow, the Smart Road opened in 1999 as a two-mile-long test track operated by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, a joint venture between the university and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The two-lane road crosses the Ellett Valley on what VDOT has called the tallest state-maintained bridge in Virginia and then ends in a turnaround on the side of a ridge.
The plan was to eventually extend the road to become a four-lane, six-mile direct link between Blacksburg and I-81. But with the U.S. 460 Bypass, which opened shortly after the Smart Road, handling traffic, there is no timetable for further construction, Bond said.
“Today the bypass is functioning just fine,” he said.
Montgomery supervisors have requested more work on the Smart Road before. But even last fall, when supervisors voted to include the road in their short list of transportation requests to the state, there was no discussion about it.
“There’s probably no funding for it for a long, long time,” Supervisors Chairman Jim Politis acknowledged Friday.
Still, completing the road remains a priority for Montgomery County because it would give the county another interstate exit where the Smart Road joins I-81, projected to be along Den Hill Road, and would ease traffic flow generally, he said.
Yost said that while some of his colleagues in the legislature have been deluged with comments about the governor’s plan to eliminate the gasoline tax, which now funds many transportation needs in Virginia, and instead raise the sales tax, he had heard from fewer than a half dozen constituents.
“I think that’s typical of Southwest Virginia,” Yost said. “Transportation is not really on people’s radar.”
The Roanoke Times | 381-1669
5 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
The General Assembly and other decision-makers affecting our region need to get their act together! No one can see a functional need for improved I-81 access with the by-pass exit currently functioning well. But block that road in an emergency evacuation or access need of the region due to some unforeseen scenario and we would be in a bind. Blacksburg is an actively growing population. Virginia Tech is driving this growth. We should have multiple access/egress points to Blacksburg exclusive to the current roads. It’s not all football traffic that makes this obvious. The economic development of the region depends on a viable Blackburg and Virginia Tech. We are continually losing opportunities for revenue that would benefit the region because of limited access. We can’t have a viable economic engine in Virginia Tech without good transportation! A faster link to the Roanoke airport was a major part of the original justification for the smart road exit. SW Virginia continues to be ignored on transportation because of the huge sucking sound from NOVA and the eastern population centers. The priority of I-81 improvement and rail access have gone by the wayside. Our current air access is much more limited than it was 25 years ago. Rail no longer exists! Yet we continue to grow. Montgomery County was recently highlighted for its job market and low unemployment. This development demands better transportation than we have now. This region needs to do more to be noticed by Richmond and Washington than the Board of Supervisors sending a list to Richmond every year. We need to form or reenergize a consortium with other parts of the region, industry, Virginia Tech, other institutions, and citizens and ramp up this effort once again. Perhaps we need to hire a lobbyist? But we can’t continue to treat this need as routine.
Comment by MikeW — January 13, 2013 @ 12:35 am
The Smart Road should remain a closed, safe, experimental road for testing purposes. It should remain as is so researchers can continue the important work that is taking place there. Blasting out several miles of hillside for another connection to Interstate 81 is unnecessary.
Comment by Anonymous — January 15, 2013 @ 4:28 pm
MikeW, I wholeheartedly agree with you! I’ve been waiting a good 10 years for this Smart Road project to be completed! It would be awesome to use it as a multi-functional road for other tests as well. It would be an awesome connection site and scenic too…also, there would be a great exit between the long stretch between Ironto and Cburg. Plus, in the long run, it is planned to be part of the major corridor of I-73.
With North Carolina expected to complete I-73 and I-74 in 10-15 years and South Carolina having projects to start building near Myrtle Beach, VA would be smart to get going on I-73 from Blacksburg to Martinsville! Then all to do is the Giles Co. to Michigan segment!
It would be great for another interstate to serve this area!
Comment by Nick S. — March 1, 2013 @ 11:30 pm
And while the Smart Road is being used currently for good use, I really would hate for it to be wasted! I mean, it is a perfect reason to connect to I-81! Come on VA, do something!!! The voices are starting to be heard!!!
Comment by Nick S. — March 1, 2013 @ 11:31 pm
The Bridge is a large waste of money i think the bridge should be looked at to be finished in the near future. Whats the point of building a mutli million dollar bridge if they were just going to run out of money and not finish it! Living within a mile from under the bridge i would like to see it used for something more than just a Test or study bridge.
Comment by Chris — March 20, 2013 @ 9:06 pm