The Virginia Department of Transportation announced on Tuesday that as part of the Interstate 81 widening project in Roanoke County near Salem, nighttime lane and ramp closures on southbound I-81 are scheduled for Aug. 4 and 5, so barrier wall can be moved and a new traffic pattern put in place.
Weather permitting, starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 4, southbound I-81 will be reduced to one lane between mile markers 142 and 140 until the morning of Saturday, Aug. 5.
During this lane closure, the exit 141 off ramp from southbound I-81 to Route 419 and the exit 141 on ramp from Route 419 to southbound I-81 will be closed.
Once the barrier wall has been moved, southbound I-81 traffic will be shifted into a new pattern. Two lanes of traffic will continue to be open in the work zone, but motorists will be traveling on a different portion of roadway on the left side of the road. There will be a wide left shoulder and a narrow right shoulder after the traffic switch.
-The Salem Times-Register