About the program
Program overview
The I-81 Corridor Improvement Program is enhancing safety and reliability, reducing congestion and unlocking economic growth along a critical portion of our nation’s infrastructure.
I-81 is a key north-south backbone of the East Coast’s freight network and has the highest per-capita truck volume in Virginia. More than one-third of all trucks and nearly half of the state’s value of goods are transported along the 325-mile corridor. I-81 in Virginia also connects 30 colleges and universities and parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive.
The I-81 corridor spans VDOT's Bristol, Salem and Staunton districts in western Virginia. Thirteen counties and 45 cities and towns are located along the corridor.
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Program improvements
There are 65 construction projects including additional travel lanes in areas where they are needed most. Other projects include truck-climbing lanes through challenging terrain, and merge-lane extensions at many interchanges.
Traffic-operations improvements include digital message signs, additional traffic cameras to detect incidents, rapid-towing incentives, curve warnings and parallel route enhancements. The I-81 CIP also supports multimodal improvements in partnership with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority.
For more details on specific program improvements, please visit the following pages:
Funding
Bills authorizing I-81 Corridor Improvement Program and Fund:
The dedicated sources were modified in the 2020 Transportation Omnibus Legislation.
Finance Updates provided to the Advisory Committee provide the latest insight to the funding status of the program and fund.
Revenues and allocations supporting the fund and improvements were identified from the following sources:
Program development
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- 1957 - 1972
- Construction of I-81 began in 1957 and was completed in 1972.
- 1998
- VDOT completed the first Corridor Improvement Study for I-81.
- 2004
- VDOT launched the second Corridor Improvement Study for I-81.
- 2005
- VDOT prepared a Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
- April - December 2018
- Corridor study completed by the CTB, OIPI, VDOT, and DRPT.
- December 2018
- CTB approved the I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan, identifying $2 billion of projects for the corridor.
- January 2019
- Virginia General Assembly introduced two bills regarding the corridor: SB1716 and HB2718.
- March 2019
- Governor announced an amendment to both bills to provide dedicated funding sources for the Program's identified priorities.
- April 2019
- The amendments passed the General Assembly and were signed by the Governor, establishing the 2019 Acts of Assembly 846.
- July – September 2019
- The first CIP projects are implemented and include corridor-wide operational improvements, such as increased Safety Service Patrol and the installation of flashing chevrons.
- July 2024
- The CIP turns five. Completed projects include: 24 acceleration/deceleration lane extensions, 1 auxiliary lane, 1 truck climbing lane, 9 curve improvements, 3 multimodal improvements, and 5 types of operational improvements implemented.
- 2025
- Building on the Corridor Improvement Plan completed in 2018, VDOT and its partners initiate a plan update to identify new improvement projects along the corridor and seek input from the public through surveys and public meetings.
Last updated: September 19, 2025
