New road complete in Troutville

BOTETOURT COUNTY (WSLS 10) - A new road opens Sunday in Botetourt County, the first phase of a major project to reduce congestion in Troutville.

Gateway Crossing connects Route 11 to Route 220 Alternate.

Drivers will take detours while the Virginia Department of Transportation constructs a roundabout and northbound Interstate 81 on-ramp, to be completed in 2017.

"We have a lot of primary roads that all converge on each other. We've got Route 11. We've got 220 and 81," said Jen Ward with V-DOT. "We've got lots of traffic coming lots of different directions and that can create some bottlenecking."

The county hopes the road improvements will lead to development including hotels, restaurants and retail.

"From the north going south, this is the entry point to the Roanoke Valley," said Botetourt County administrator Gary Larrowe. "So really this is going to set the stage we hope for the whole region."

VDOT has set up a website with information for drivers, including simulations that show the drive on Gateway Crossing and how the roundabout will operate.