BY DAN KEGLEY
Staff
Marion officials are preparing as best they can for traffic diverted through town on Highway 11 by nearly year-long lane closures on Interstate 81 adjacent to the town.
Marion Town Council member Jim Owens said this week Virginia Department of Transportation officials discussed with town leaders effects of closing for 11 months one lane on both the northbound and southbound sides of the interstate. The main effect for Marion would be “increased traffic through town,” Owens said.
VDOT said the upcoming lane closures are needed during work on Interstate 81 bridges over Scratch Gravel Road near Exit 45. Concrete bridge decks, steel beams and railings are to be replaced in the $4 million project awarded contractor DLB Inc. of Hillsville.
Mayor David Helms said earlier this month word of how to get around construction bottlenecks travels quickly among truckers. They will soon view Highway 11, that splits Marion right down Main Street, as the best bypass here.
Owens said VDOT will erect signs on the interstate warning of events like parades that close Main Street on occasion and would cause back-ups of unwitting big rig drivers.
Helms said signs would be placed at McMullin where Highway 11 crosses I-81 to show truckers where to stop for traffic to allow oncoming trucks room to turn past them. A truck faced with too-tight a turn can cause a logjam of 18-wheelers where there are only two lanes.
dkegley@wythenews.com
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