BOTETOURT COUNTY (WSLS 10) - Virginia State Police are cracking down on speeding and reckless driving on the U.S. 220 Bypass in Botetourt County following two fatal crashes.
Four people died on the highway within the last seven days, with speed and driver inattentiveness being the main factors.
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"These accidents don't happen as often as they have in the past week or two," said Botetourt Co. Fire Chief Jeff Beckner.
He believes the rise in fatal crashes is not a trend because the two were unrelated. However, it highlights a problem local drivers have been dealing with for decades.
In Eagle Rock, U.S. 220 goes from four lanes to two lanes. The 11 mile stretch from northern Botetourt County into Alleghany County has led to countless crashes and has been the subject of much debate.
"You have the curvy terrain, you have intersections without turn lanes and there's no shoulders," said VDOT spokesman Jason Bond. "These are a lot of the situations we're looking to correct."
In its latest six year improvement plan, the Commonwealth Transportation Board set aside $78 million to improve safety on the two lane stretch. It's a three phase project, with bidding on phase one scheduled to begin in 2019.
VDOT said the earliest construction could begin is later that year.
The short term solution is for police to get drivers to slow down and be aware of the number of accidents that happen on the 220 Bypass.
"It's going to bring an awareness level up to everyone that these tragic accidents have happened," Beckner said. Hopefully, we'll get people to be more careful driving."
It's a lesson Beckner hopes drivers will take with them this holiday weekend, during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.