| Interstate 381 in Virginia |
Interstate 381 in Virginia is the 1.45-mile-long connector from I-81 to the 4-lane 1.2-mile-long arterial VA-381 connector to the downtown of the City of Bristol. I-381 and VA-381 form a continuous thoroughfare. I-381 is 4 lanes wide, and it opened to traffic on Nov. 20, 1961, at the same time that the 5.5-mile-long I-81 Bristol Bypass opened. Initially, I-381 only had two northerly ramps with I-81;
in 1988 the two southerly ramps were added.
The southbound ramp from I-81 to
I-381 was rebuilt in the 1988 project. Due to the varied topography the new
ramp from I-381 to southbound I-81 was built on the first level over I-81, and
the southbound ramp from I-81 to I-381 was rebuilt to the top level of a
3-level interchange.
Aerial photo of interchange between I-81 and
I-381, extracted in August 2017, taken by Google Maps.
VDOT 1997 traffic volume data follows. Figures are published rounded to the nearest 100. Traffic volumes on I-381 are 16,800 annual average daily traffic (AADT) with 4% large trucks.
VDOT 2015 traffic volume data follows. Figures are published rounded to the nearest 100. Traffic volumes on I-381 are 15,000 annual average daily traffic (AADT) with 3% large trucks. The southerly ramps between I-81 and I-381 carry about 700 AADT each. The vast majority of the traffic is on the northerly ramps, about 6,500 AADT each.
See also the Virginia Highways Project website article I-381.
Lead article Interstate Highway System in Virginia
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By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future