ROANOKE, Va. – At Tuesday afternoon’s meeting, Roanoke City leaders presented ideas to promote traffic flow and pedestrian safety on busy roadways in Roanoke.
The city will soon apply for SMART SCALE grants from VDOT and other projects from Gainsboro Road to Gus Nicks Boulevard.
Leaders like Mark Jamison, Roanoke City’s Transportation Manager, talked about the areas that need some work but mentioned past setbacks of construction fund approval.
“Orange Avenue, Challenger Avenue, and Route 460 are on the radar screen. We are hopeful that as opportunities present themselves this will be funded, but it’s almost impossible to know why or what might happen,” Jamison said.
Roanoke is one of the hottest areas of travel today, whether it’s to work, just going across town, or passing through – the roads see hundreds of thousands of vehicles each day.
Dwayne D’Ardenne, Roanoke City Transportation Division Manager, talked about the heavy traffic flow in Roanoke as it pertains to the need for construction for safety.
“That’s a big corridor [Roanoke Area] in terms of traffic volume, and it’s especially important for commuters coming and going to work, for shopping, and other things. It’s a prime corridor for the city and we wanna do everything we can to have traffic flow safely and efficiently,” D’Ardenne said.
The city will announce its decision on funding for road improvements next spring.