Virginia I-81 work set for up to $89.7 million in federal loans

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced two federal TIFIA loans for Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board, totaling up to $89.7 million. The loans are capped at $47.6 million and $42.1 million. The announcement does not establish that the agreements have closed or that funds have been disbursed.

The planned work spans Virginia’s 325-mile I-81 corridor. It includes truck-climbing lanes in Washington and Augusta counties, exit-ramp extensions in Wythe County, merge lanes around Wytheville, and replacement of bridges over Peppers Ferry Road and at the northbound I-81 bridge over I-77. USDOT says I-81 carries 43% of Virginia’s interstate truck traffic.

The loans support Virginia’s $4 billion I-81 Corridor Improvement Program. USDOT says construction on many projects in the wider program is underway and gives late 2035 as the program’s completion target, not a deadline for each loan-supported project. The department did not specify project-level construction dates or when the loan agreements would close.