By Lisa Baratta
A focus of the 2006 Virginia General Assembly is transportation, and particularly, long-term planning for Interstate 81. Still, Delegate Ben Cline from Virginia's 24th District, which includes Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, believes there are safety issues that need to be addressed right now in order to pave the way for the future.
One of Cline's bills to address safety issues on I-81 has passed the through the House and has left the Senate after three votes with only slight amendments to the language of the bill. On Thursday, the bill was being sent back to the House for final approval.
House Bill 1581, will require the Commonwealth of Virginia to develop a plan that defines how much truck traffic could be reduced if some of that freight was carried on rail in the I-81 Corridor.
"The study for... how we can best move freight off of 81 comes first, and you start upgrading in stages," said Cline. He believes his bill will help push the Virginia Department of Transportation more toward rail and less toward the addition of truck lanes.
Cline also drafted another bill in relation to Interstate 81 based on many constituents' disagreements with the projected two-lane expansion, but this bill did not make it out of the House. Instead of new truck lanes down the entirety of I-81, Cline advocates adding a third lane in specific areas, areas that see the most congestion.
"We really need to focus on choke points, just those areas of 81 that are on steep inclines, that go through urban areas like Roanoke or Harrisonburg," he said. "The bill died because a lot of delegates feel like we need to let the process play itself out."
The stages of improvement on I-81 will need to include upgrades in rail, beginning with the old line that goes west over the Blue Ridge near Front Royal. "If you improve that line, a lot of companies will start using that rail instead of putting it on trucks up and down 81," Cline said. This process can potentially move 100,000 trucks a year off Interstate 81, a long-term goal most members of the Assembly see as a positive improvement.
The full video report from Richmond
See the progress of the bill as it makes its way through the General Assembly
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