The I-81 Advisory Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) regarding the development of the I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan.

The committee met in Lexington on December 13, 2024. Meeting materials are posted below.

All meetings are open to the public and meeting minutes are available online by clicking on the desired meeting link below.

The committee, which meets at least twice each year, has 15 voting members: seven Virginia lawmakers, three CTB members representing the Bristol, Salem and Staunton districts, and the five chairs of the planning district commissions. VDOT’s commissioner and DRPT’s director will serve on the committee ex officio in non-voting capacities.

Members of the Committee

Voting Members:

• Committee Chair: Senator Mark Obenshain, District 2
• Committee Vice-Chair: Delegate Terry Austin, District 37
• Senator David Sutterlein, District 4
• Senator T. Travis Hackworth, District 5
• Delegate Jason Ballard, District 42
• Delegate Bill Wiley, District 32
• Delegate Sam Rasoul, District 38
• Chair Frank Friedman, Central Shenandoah PDC
• Chair Phil North, Roanoke Valley/Alleghany PDC
• Chair Hil Johnson, New River Valley PDC
• Chair Dennis Morris, Northern Shenandoah PDC
• Chair Randy Pennington, Mount Rogers PDC
• Ray Smoot Jr., Salem District CTB Member
• Tom Fowlkes, Bristol District CTB Member
• John Good Jr., Staunton District CTB Member

Ex-Officio (Non-Voting) Members:

• Stephen Brich, VDOT Commissioner
• Tiffany Robinson, DRPT Director

Meeting Materials

December 13, 2024 In-Person Meeting:

• Meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Mezzanine meeting room of the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Va.
• Meeting Agenda
• News Release
• Corridor Improvement Program Update from VDOT - December 2024
• I-81 Corridor Finance Update from VDOT - December 2024
• I-81 Multimodal Improvements Plan from DRPT – Virginia Breeze Update – December 2024
• I-81 Multimodal Improvements Plan from VPRA – New River Valley Passenger Extension – December 2024
• Video Recording of Meeting
• Draft Meeting Minutes

October 2, 2023 In-Person Meeting:

• Meeting Agenda
• News Release
• Corridor Improvement Program Update from VDOT
• Virginia Breeze Update from Department of Rail and Public Transportation
• I-81 CIP Financial Update
• I-81 P3 (Public Private Partnership) Feasibility - Market Soundings Summary
• Recording of Meeting
• Final Meeting Minutes
• Meeting Displays
  • Bristol District – Widening, Truck Climbing Lane and Auxiliary Lane Projects
  • Bristol District – Acceleration/Deceleration Extension, Shoulder Widening and Curve Improvement Projects
  • Bristol District – SmartScale / State of Good Repair Projects
  • Salem District – Widening, Truck Climbing Lane and Auxiliary Lane Projects
  • Salem District – Acceleration/Deceleration Extension, Shoulder Widening and Curve Improvement Projects
  • Salem District – SmartScale / State of Good Repair Projects
  • Staunton District – Widening, Truck Climbing Lane and Auxiliary Lane Projects
  • Staunton District – Acceleration/Deceleration Extension, Shoulder Widening and Curve Improvement Projects
  • Staunton District – SmartScale / State of Good Repair Projects
  • Southbound widening between Exits 137 and 128
  • Northbound widening MM 190 – Exit 195
  • Southbound widening Exit 195 – MM 190
  • Northbound widening between Exits 298 and 300
  • Northbound/southbound realignment of S-curves in Botetourt (MM 167 – Exit 168)

July 7, 2022 In-Person Meeting:

• Meeting Agenda
• Meeting Minutes
• News Release (includes public comment instructions)
• Corridor Improvement Program Update from VDOT
• Multimodal Improvement Plan - Virginia Breeze
• Transforming Rail in Virginia - Passenger Rail Update
• I-81 CIP Financial Update
• Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Presentation
• Recording of Meeting

April 28, 2021 Virtual Meeting:

• Meeting Agenda
• Meeting Minutes
• I-81 Corridor Improvement Program Update from VDOT
• I-81 CIP Overview Video
• I-81 CIP Handout
• I-81 Multimodal Improvements Plan
• I-81 CIP Financial Update
• Recording of Virtual Meeting Live-Stream

December 2020 Virtual Meeting:

• Meeting agenda
• Meeting Video
• Meeting agenda

October 2020 Virtual Meeting:

• Meeting agenda
• Committee Briefing
• Finance Update
• Task Force Overview
• Multimodal Presentation
• Meeting Video
• Meeting Minutes

October 2019 Meeting in Natural Bridge:

• Meeting agenda
• Improvements Table
• I-81 Board
• I-81 Study Project Prioritization
• Meeting Presentation
• Meeting Minutes

August 2019 Meeting in Lexington:

• Agenda
• Legislation
• Financial Presentation
• Project Prioritization Process Presentation
• I-81 Six-Year Improvement Plan Amendments/Operational Improvements
• Approved Meeting Minutes

CTB Briefings & Reports

• CTB December 2019 briefing
• CTB April 2019 briefing