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I-81 Advisory Committee
Guiding improvements and engaging the public
The I-81 Advisory Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) regarding the development of the I-81 Corridor Improvement Program.
The committee's most recent meeting was Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. 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 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 serve on the committee ex officio in non-voting capacities.
Members of the committee
- 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 Mitchell Cornett, District 46
- 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 Steven Gobble Jr., Mount Rogers PDC
- Ray Smoot Jr., Salem District CTB member
- Tom Fowlkes, Bristol District CTB member
- John Good Jr., Staunton District CTB member
- Stephen Brich, VDOT commissioner
- Mariia Zimmerman, DRPT director
Meeting materials
- Meeting took place at 1 p.m. in the Robert E. Plecker Workforce Center at Blue Ridge Community College, 1 College Lane, Weyers Cave, VA 24486
- News Release
- Agenda
- Video Recording of Meeting
- I-81 2025 CIP - Advisory Committee Update - December 2025 Presentation
- Draft meeting minutes - 2 December 2025
- Meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Robert E. Plecker Workforce Center at Blue Ridge Community College, 1 College Lane, Weyers Cave, VA 24486
- Meeting Agenda
- I-81 Corridor Improvement Program - Status of Current Projects - from Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
- Virginia Breeze Update from the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT)
- Update on New River Valley Passenger Rail Project - from Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA)
- I-81 Finance Update to Advisory Committee - July 2025
- I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan - July 2025 Update from Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
- News Release
- I-Final Meeting Minutes - 14 July 2025
- Meeting scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Mezzanine meeting room of the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Va.
- I-81 Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda - 13 December 2024
- 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
- I-81 Advisory Committee Meeting - December 13, 2024 - Final Meeting Minutes
- 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
- I-81 Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Oct_2_2023
- 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)
- Meeting Agenda
- Meeting Minutes
- News Release (includes public comment instructions)
- Corridor Improvement Program Update from VDOT
- Recording of Meeting
- Contact VDOT for additional meeting materials (multimodal improvement plan, passenger rail update, financial update and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) presentation)
- Meeting Agenda
- Meeting Minutes
- I-81 Corridor Improvement Program Update from VDOT
- I-81 CIP Overview Video
- I-81 CIP Handout
- Recording of Virtual Meeting Live-Stream
- Contact VDOT for additional meeting materials (multimodal improvements plan and I-81 CIP financial update)
Discover more
Last updated: April 7, 2026
