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Interstate 581 turns 50 this year, with many of those years overcoming controversy and hurdles to connect different areas of the region.
Location: Roanoke County and City
Features
Interstate 581 is a six-lane highway that connects Interstate 81 with Routes 460 and 220. It provides the primary interstate and regional access to the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, downtown Roanoke and Valley View Mall.
History
With the development of the interstate highway system in the 1950s under the Eisenhower Administration and, more specifically, I-81, the need to direct traffic from the interstate to Roanoke city and other main state highways became paramount to economic development. Begun in 1964, the original interstate spur was constructed in five sections and took three years. The first, three-section phase from I-81 to U.S. 460/Orange Avenue opened between December 21, 1964, and September 14, 1965, as each of the sections was completed. The second, two-section construction was opened on October 12, 1967. What is known today as the Roy L. Webber Expressway connecting 581 at Elm Avenue to Route 419/220 was opened in 1980. Webber was a former mayor of Roanoke. As the Webber Expressway was not built to interstate standards, the official terminus for I-581 is at the Elm Avenue interchange. The expressway was originally constructed with four lanes and then widened to six lanes in the 1990s.
The opening of I-581 paralleled the construction of Interstate 81. The 33-mile section of I-81 between Dixie Caverns and Fancy Hill, just south of Lexington, opened in December 1964 simultaneous with the opening of the first phase of I-581.
Now marking 50 years, I-581 was not without controversy and hurdles. Rights-of-way and its inevitable construction physically divided neighborhoods and necessitated the removal of homes and some historic structures. Yet, no one can argue against the positive economic impact the spur has created in the Roanoke Valley.
Significance
The impact of I-581 is unquestionably economic. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, over 80,000 vehicles travel the spur daily with the highest volume being in the vicinity of Roanoke’s downtown. The highway has over the decades spurred private and public development. The adjacent Roanoke Civic Center (Berglund Center) opened in 1971 with a 10,500-seat arena and then later was complimented by the Roanoke Performing Arts Center, exhibit hall and special events center, the latter being completed in 2007.
Ground was broken on August 22, 1983, for Valley View Mall. The story goes that developer Henry Faison was flying into Roanoke from Charlotte, NC, and viewed the large Huff farm along I-581 and immediately recognized its economic potential. The rezoning for the mall was protracted, being fought by some residents as well as the owners of Tanglewood Mall that had opened in 1973. Ultimately, the battle was resolved by the Virginia Supreme Court that ruled the rezoning was legal. Valley View opened on July 17, 1985, with much anticipation and anchored tenants JC Penney, Leggett, Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimer’s. From its opening to the present, Valley View has expanded multiple times to become a sprawling complex of retail, restaurants, a multiplex cinema and office space.
The Roanoke Regional Partnership reported that retail sales in the Valley View area totaled $480 million in 2016, representing approximately one-fourth of all sales volume in Roanoke City. Brian Townsend, Assistant City Manager for Community Development, states, “We ‘import’ a lot of sales activity from the population throughout the region which also keeps the sales numbers looking impressive.”
Even Roanoke’s signature structure, the Hotel Roanoke, can attribute much of its rebirth to the presence of I-581. Closed in the 1980s by the N&W Railway, the hotel reopened as a hotel and conference center through a partnership between the City of Roanoke and Virginia Tech. That 1992 effort, known as the “Renew Roanoke” campaign, culminated in several million dollars being raised for the renovation and expansion of the Tudor-style hotel. The conference center addition was deemed critical for a sustainable future for the historic structure.
What Happened
With the increase in vehicular and commercial traffic on I-581 and the ongoing economic development projects along its corridor, the spur’s interchanges needed upgrades if not outright reconfigurations. During the past decade, much work has been done on the interchanges and a sound wall along a portion of the highway has been constructed. The Elm Avenue/Route 24 interchange was re-worked a few years ago to address congestion concerns on the overpass.
The Valley View Boulevard/Airport interchange was reconfigured as a diverging diamond routing system. Completed in November 2016, the construction took two years and cost $64 million. The new interchange not only provided better access to Valley View but has now provided direct interstate access to some 100 acres of vacant land on the south side of I-581 that will in time attract economic activity.
In 2014, nearly two miles of 15-foot high sound barrier walls were erected to better insulate residential sections from traffic noise. The $4 million barrier system sought to partially relieve some 300 residences and apartments from I-581 noise. The project was done in conjunction with the Valley View interchange upgrade.
The future of I-581 involves its potential conversion to the proposed Interstate 73. Though decades in the future, I-73 in Virginia will follow a route from the North Carolina-Virginia border near Ridgeway, north through Franklin County to a connection at the Elm Avenue/Route 24 interchange, and then along I-581 to connect with Interstate 81. In 2001, after numerous environmental impact studies and routing drafts, the Commonwealth Transportation Board adopted its I-73 plan that brought the route through Roanoke via I-581. While feasibility studies for I-73 began in 1993, no additional funds have been appropriated beyond the studies and route mapping. If and when I-73 becomes a reality, the traffic volume on I-581 will be dramatically impacted. For now, I-581 remains not only the main traffic artery through Roanoke but also a key piece of the valley’s economic infrastructure and will be well into the future.
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