The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will spend $62.4 million to reconstruct and improve Route 460 in the city of Roanoke. Currently in the design phase, construction is anticipated to begin in 2028.
The state will specifically target the Orange Avenue section of Route 460, outlining plans to improve a 2-mile section of the corridor by modifying intersections to improve safety and mobility. These improvements will include building new turn lanes, sidewalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals and crosswalks.
Additional work will cover improving the ramps along northbound and southbound Interstate 581, including adding signals to the off-ramp. Plans also include building a second turn lane from the northbound I-581 off-ramp and adding a left turn lane from northbound Williamson Road onto Carver Avenue. To better connect to the interstate, the project will upgrade the signal and add new turn lanes to and from Williamson Road.
VDOT will modify the 11th Street NE intersection to improve safety by directing drivers to use alternative routes or make a U-turn at an available crossover or signal rather than directly cross Orange Avenue. Plans include incorporating left turn lanes to connect Plantation Road and Kimball Avenue onto Orange Avenue and extending the left turn lane from Orange Avenue onto Kimball Avenue.
Additional improvements will be made to three intersections to facilitate easier right turns onto Orange Avenue. In addition, the department will close three median crossovers between 13th Street and 20th Street, redirect left turns onto Rhodes Avenue and add a second left turn lane from 13th Street onto Orange Avenue.
Plans include building a cul-de-sac at an Archbold Avenue intersection and extending the roadway by .16 miles. Finally, VDOT will add a left turn lane near 20th Avenue NE for U-turns and redirect traffic along 24th Street NE and Gus Nicks Boulevard to use alternative side streets instead of turning onto Orange Avenue.
Photo by Andrew Whitaker, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
