Four Virginia Rest Areas Reopened
The Virginia Department of Transportation reopened four rest areas on Interstate 81 on Wednesday, a first installment on the commitment by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) to reopen all 19 rest areas closed last year. These are the four: I-81 North Rural Retreat, I-81 South Smyth, I-81 South New Market and I-81 North Radford. Here’s a schedule for reopening the other areas and a map of their locations. The ones on I-95 in Dale City and on I-66 in Manassas are among those scheduled to reopen March 17. All are to be open by April 15. The rest stops were closed to save $9 million a year. Virginia didn’t have enough money to finance its transportation system, and it still doesn’t. VDOT is going to use $3 million from its emergency maintenance reserve fund to operate the reopened areas for the rest of the fiscal year that ends June 30.
