CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – One of Christiansburg's busiest intersections is about to get a makeover.
The town and the Virginia Department of Transportation expect to start work on the Franklin Road/U.S. 460 interchange next month. The $8.5 million project will create a new traffic pattern through the interchange and down to Franklin Road. Work is estimated to take at least a year.
"I know town council is doing the best they can, working with VDOT, so I'm hoping the changes will be good for us," said Doug Kanney, who lives near the interchange. "I'd really like to be on vacation for the next five or six months and be out of the area, but that's not a possibility."
More than 26,000 cars use the intersection every day, according to a 2016 estimate from town engineers.
The area is known for its traffic jams because exit lanes from two different roads merge together, then sit at separate traffic lights. The new pattern will lead one exit lane to a traffic light intersection with the other exit lane, then bring the combined traffic together to one stoplight.
The new pattern will also add another stoplight intersection further down Franklin Road.
"I hope it makes life easier for us as we travel," Kanney said. "I'm sure the people who want to go to work in the morning want to get there quickly and easily."