Instead of waiting for another 20 years or more we want SAFER SOLUTIONS SOONER.
Our policy suggestions identify improvements that don’t involve any environmental permits, no right-of-way purchases and no waiting on construction bids and are sensitive to the valuable resources that border the interstate throughout the Valley – scenic and historic landscapes, working agricultural lands and small towns:
- Increase the number of state troopers patrolling the interstate for speeding and unsafe, aggressive, and distracted driving.
- Find ways to clear accidents much more quickly.
- Apply new technology. Real time warning messages can be deployed on message signs alerting drivers to upcoming accidents and delays.
- Prioritize spot improvements identified by safety and congestion data over excessive widening projects.
- Study the effects of past speed limit increases and fluctuating speed limits along the corridor.
- Invest in improvements to local road networks in congested areas like Harrisonburg and Winchester, where local traffic uses I-81 instead of local roads.
And, in the long term, moving the long-haul freight traffic onto the parallel rail line must be part of a balanced transportation system.