Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded a $237.75 million contract to widen 3.2 miles of Interstate 81, part of a larger I-81 Corridor Improvement Program.
Triton Construction Inc. of Virginia won the contract for widening I-81 in Roanoke County and Salem beginning in Spring 2027, with the goal of enhancing safety, reducing congestion and boosting economic growth. The corridor handles over 50,000 vehicles per day.
The new contract is one of three projects to eventually widen nine miles of the interstate northbound and southbound near Ironto from two to three lanes. The other two contracts have not been awarded and are expected to be completed by Fall 2030:
- Segment M: Mile markers 131 to 133.8, with construction expected to start in 2028.
- Segment S: Exit 128 to mile marker 131, with construction expected to start late 2027/early 2028.
Other upgrades will include replacing bridges, improving ramps and installing concrete barrier and sound walls. The final price tag on all three projects is estimated at $917 million.
These three contracts fall under the Virginia I-81 Corridor Improvement Program, a nearly $4 billion initiative consisting of 65 projects on Virginia’s western border. The first of the projects began in 2019, and 41 projects under the plan have been completed. Another 16 CIB projects are underway.
The VCTB forecasts all 65 projects will be finished by the end of 2035.
Triton Construction previously won a separate $219 million contract under the Corridor Improvement Program to widen about six miles of I-81 in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
