Planning commission recommends Frederick County 2025–26 road improvement plan to Board of Supervisors

The Frederick County Planning Commission voted June 4 to recommend approval of the county's draft 2025'26 interstate, primary and secondary road improvement plan and forward it to the Board of Supervisors for final adoption.

The vote followed an annual staff presentation of the plan and a public hearing. The commission's recommendation covers priorities on Interstate 81, primary routes and the state-required secondary road plan, along with an updated list of unpaved-road paving projects and revenue-sharing work such as Redbud Road.

Why it matters: the county's secondary road plan is the document state code requires each locality to adopt annually; the planning commission's recommendation is an advisory step before Board of Supervisors action. The plan sets the county's priorities for seeking state funding and for communicating project rankings to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

County staff said priority changes on I-81 were minimal this year but highlighted two items: text clarifications encouraging freight-focused rail options to reduce truck traffic on I-81, and an updated scope for a widening segment that now extends about 0.5 miles north of Exit 317 to include bridges and ramps and reflects recent changes in I-81 fund allocations. Staff noted the county still calls for widening and interchange upgrades across many segments of I-81 and that those items remain ranked against each other in the plan.

The staff presentation also described the primary-road recommendations and explained that a paragraph proposing Route 37 East as an alternative to I-81 widening was removed because the earlier strategy no longer fits priorities established in the Eastern Frederick County Transportation Study. Staff said Route 37 remains split into prioritized segments, with the segments from Route 11 to Route 7 and Exit 310 to Route 522 ranked highest; other segments were moved lower in priority with alternatives retained for future consideration.

On local projects, staff reported Redbud Road remains a revenue-sharing project with a package of funds to finish it; right-of-way acquisition is underway and advertisement for construction was described as likely in winter (around December'January), ahead of major work on Exit 317 funded through SmartScale. Staff also reviewed the hard-surfacing (unpaved-road paving) list: Fischel Road is under construction, Canterbury Road should see activity in a few weeks, and two phases of Honey Ridge Road together represent several miles of paving. An unscheduled list of 15 projects was noted; Veterans Road was singled out as having an active petition that may move in a future update.

Staff provided a multi-year outlook for the largest interstate project discussed: the widening from Exit 313 to just past Exit 317 was described as roughly a $492,000,000 effort with advertisement projections currently in the 2030'31 timeframe. Staff cautioned schedules depend on VDOT funding cycles and SmartScale award timelines.

The commission opened a public hearing and, with no members of the public speaking, moved to a recommendation vote. The motion to recommend approval passed with the commission recording a unanimous roll call: Bridal, Runback, McKay, Paul Turf, Snedden, Margaret, Thomas, Kozel, DeHaven, Aikens, Whitaker and the chair all voted yes. The commission's recommendation will go to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

What happens next: the Board of Supervisors will consider the plan; staff and VDOT will pursue funding opportunities consistent with the priorities in the plan, including SmartScale and revenue-sharing programs. The recommendation does not itself authorize construction; final project schedules and funding remain subject to VDOT and state allocations.