Montgomery County reports $22 million in Route 8 safety awards and multiple corridor projects moving to design and construction

Montgomery County planning staff reported on Oct. 6 that several multimillion-dollar transportation projects are moving into design and construction phases, including a Highway Safety Improvements Program award on Route 8 and SmartScale and priority-funding awards for key intersections and corridor work.

Justin, planning staff, told the joint meeting that the Route 8 corridor received about $22,000,000 in Highway Safety Improvements Program (HSIP) funding to add guardrail, centerline and edge-line rumble strips and reflectors. Justin said VDOT planned to begin centerline rumble-strip work the week of the Oct. 6 meeting and that construction activities under the HSIP award will continue through 2027.

Justin also noted three other funded projects and schedules: a SmartScale award of about $5,600,000 for the Route 11460/Allegheny Springs Road intersection (design underway; advertisement 2026; construction 2027); a SmartScale-design project for dedicated turn lanes in the Bridalfork village that expects advertisement in mid-2026 and construction beginning March 2027; and a Bridges/priority-transportation-funds allocation of about $8,500,000 for the Bridalfork/Peppers Ferry intersection improvements, now in design and beginning right-of-way acquisition ahead of a June 2026 advertisement and early‑2027 construction start.

Staff also reviewed projects that were not funded in the last SmartScale cycle but scored well on safety. Chief among those was a proposed roundabout at Merrimack Road/Walnut Spring Road/Price's Fork (estimated $17.3 million) that ranked 15th in the district; Justin said cost and significant right-of-way needs hurt its competitiveness and that staff plans to resubmit in SmartScale round 7.

Peppers Ferry corridor and studies

Staff described an Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) corridor study for Peppers Ferry (Route 114) that identified several problem intersections (Vickers Switch, Massey’s Mobile Home Park entrance, Onyx Drive, Bellevue Elementary crossing). A comprehensive package in that corridor had a preliminary cost estimate of about $60,000,000 — outside SmartScale’s typical “sweet spot” — so staff expects to break the package into smaller projects for future funding rounds and to pursue alternative sources such as Transportation Alternatives, HSIP and priority funds.

Valley to Valley and staffing

Staff reported receipt of a final Valley to Valley Trail report and said planning work with Roanoke County is underway; an alignment survey is live for public comment. Justin thanked the board for approving an additional transportation planner position; the new planner (hired about six weeks earlier) will focus on identifying funding sources across even- and odd-year program cycles, leveraging multiple sources for projects.

Quotes and attributions

Justin: “We were awarded about $22,000,000, to do safety improvements along the corridor.”

Justin: “We were able to get some more improvements here…pedestrian improvements…signalized crossings that are gonna get installed.”

Supervisor Biggs (question): “Now as far as any other curve cutting or curve straightening, there's gonna be none of that?” (Justin: HSIP scope limited to guardrail, rumble strips, shoulders; major earthwork would need SmartScale/revenue-sharing.)

Ending

Staff said upcoming priorities include SmartScale round 7 applications (Merrimack/Price's Fork and Vickers Switch intersections), additional OIPI corridor studies, and targeted pursuit of alternative funding programs. Staff recommended leveraging multiple funding sources and the new transportation planner to advance projects.