The Virginia Department of Transportation has proposed cuts in highway spending that would close all four rest areas on Interstate 81 in Southwest Virginia, shutter a handful of maintenance and equipment centers and reduce care of roadsides.

How might this proposal, particularly the rest-area closure, affect you?

 It's no suprize that a democrat controlled state will try to stop travelers from desposing natural human waste in a controlled rest area. We will find bags of human waste tossed along the roads like passenger trains dumped their waste even thru the ww2 era on railway property. If people of the commonwealth would demand that the governor and other elite tax robbers would work for a dollar a year for the next several years and give the money to needed projects there would be no money shortage. Federal, State and Local governments have robbed the citizens of this country as bad as Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt and their successors and cronies. A very stupid idea on no rest stops on the Intersate highway system. A better Idea would be to close down I-81 and allow no traffic through the state. Let the people use other roads in Virginia or go routes through other states. Then we can terminate at least half of state troopers. What a saving on saleries, vehicles, uniforms and related equipment. This will also allow so many judges to be eliminated as traffic citations will drop. Well maybe not as the local speed trap town, cities and county citations will skyrocket. At least it will be wort trying as I think the Interstate system was built with Ike's idea they would be used for war anyway. What ever happend to the slogan "Now Really What's Your Hurry"? 

Honestly, I usually just go to a gas station anyway. Rest areas are convenient but I'd rather drive 30 extra seconds to get gas and food if necessary. Also, our rest areas are usually not all that full for how many people are on the road. HOWEVER, I think since the facilities already exist it makes more sense to leave them open, and it's definitely going to hurt our tourism department. West Virginia's awesome rest areas are one of their best known perks. Ours aren't so nice but at least we HAVE rest areas... for now. I'm pretty sure the extra roadkill and garbage on the side of the roads won't be much of a turn-on for travelers either.

I hope you're kidding about closing down 81. Have you ever been on 81 on a Friday evening? Where do you think all those people are going to go? Assuming that they were cluttering all the country roads can you imagine how many more wrecks there would be? And for those without GPS.. yeah, not exactly easy traveling. Well, no point in going into that because that's never going to happen.

Anyway, I agree on cutting back on the troopers or even local cops. A lot of towns need the amount of police they have employed but others just seem to serve no purpose other than catching speeders. I understand that's how towns make profit but I think they might profit more from just cutting the expense. But then, that's just more lost jobs.

 I really hope the people of Virginia show up at these meetings. The states math does not work. They state it costs around $3000.00 a day to run each rest stop. The state is trying it's best to make us think these closings and lay-offs are saving  money. Let's look at another area the state said was saving money contracting out snow removal. I know for a fact each truck they contract out too cost $125.00 an hour. I can think of at least 4 times this year trucks sitting along the interstate for 12 hours and never spreading any salt or pushing any snow. The 4 trucks at $125.00 an hour times 12 hours = $1,500.00 per truck times 4 trucks $6000.00. this would pay atleast 8 VDOT workers wages for a week. They are also contracting out interstate mowing and grass seeding to ICA at an unknown cost to the tax payers. In the long run if we could get all the numbers the state is costing us more money and the safety of the driving public by not keeping open the reststops and VDOT shops.

Well now lets see-we pay a governor that won't speak if you pass him on the street,troopers really need the new Dodges(bigger motors-faster speeds),VDOT vehicles really need the white paintjobs(yellow says help is coming).Who needs a place where the kids can pee? Much less grownups on the road all day ie:truckers,cops,maitenance crews etc. Reckon the Old Dominion will continue to circle the drain. 

 No I'm not kidding about closing down some of the roads. It will happen sometime in the future. The highways are like education, you cannot eat them. And we are running out of space to raise food. Highways, schools, sub-divisions and etc. has destroyed the best farm land in Virginia and other states. Why did  we ever allow this to happen? Every community in years past was self sufficient and did not have to wait for food from CA, FL or  other countries to stock our stores. At the close of ww2 most of us was glad to be home and had little desire to travel. Now people want to travel like a ride on the hard top is a must. Huge amounts of money are spent on school busing, yet the students must drive to and from school activities if they are of age. Most households have more than one vehicle and the tax and fuel people love it. There needs to be proof of the need for a large part of this motor vehicle travel. These 20 to 40 thousand dollar vehicles crashing into each other and helps increase our insurance premiums, traffic tickets, doctor and hospital care and of course this one is final, the funeral home! Yes I need to use a restroom when I do on a rare occasion travel I-81 and they are there so use them or rent port-a-johns every frew miles along the road and get ticketed for stopping on the side of the road to use them. Such a stupid governor, why not let the teenagers run the country while they know it all?

As a woman of a certain age, creature comforts are important as well as necessary.  I-81 is a hugely busy corridor and to shutter such an important and necessary benefit as rest areas is truly "penny wise and pound foolish".  The tourism industry is already hurting and such a bone headed move will surely not improve the numbers of travelers for pleasure.  This will also create traffic hassles for the areas that are off the interstate as more people stop only for restrooms. This is as bad an idea as has been had in a while (and we all know there have been plenty).

I certainly hope Virginia does not continue down this slippery slope. We need to make people (tourist and residents alike) feel appreciated instead of closing rest areas and sending the message "don't stop in Virginia". There are a lot of uncomplementary things being said about us as it is. Trucker's have referred to the State of Virginia as the "communist state" for years.

Let's not make them right! Please do not insult the tourists that visit our State and spend their money here. Remember  "Virginia is for Lover's"?  We don't won't to become the "Your business is not wanted here" state.

I am from Roanoke and have lived in South Carolina for many years.  I travel back home as often as I can.  I am very disappointed that the state is going to close these rest stops.  When I have traveled late at night or early in the morning I feel safe in using them verses a convenience store.

The state has also forgotten the truckers.  They use the stops frequently and have a safe and large enough space to park their rigs.  Truckers can't often find places to park their rigs, and here are not that many truck stops either.  This is a no win situation for travelers and truckers.  I do believe the state can do better than this.  Here in South Carolina our interstates are used a lot by tourists and truckers.  Our state has updated our rest stops and they are very nice.  In South Carolina we care about travelers and truckers.  Virginia do the same!

I drive up and down 81 every week to go to and from North Carolina. Not infrequently, I actually use the "rest areas" to rest. If I find myself getting drowsy, and sometimes I do, I'll pull into a rest area, lock my doors, lay back my seat, and close my eyes for about 15 minutes.  It makes a huge difference, and I'm then fine for the rest of my trip.  You can't do that at a convenience store.

I do think, though, that it makes sense to discontinue the wildflower program for now...I like the flowers, but if we're short on money, it's not worth either the cost or the safety risks to the people who maintain the landscaping. I do hate to think of the people losing their jobs, though.

Wow-the first posting, and Godwin's law is already in evidence. This has to be a record! Congratulations!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

I find it odd that the Commonwealth of Virginia is "taking this route" to save money in it's continuously

mismanaged budgeting. Why are states like New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and PA - all with

much larger populations, and bigger budget "issues" able to keep their multitude of interstates, freeways

and parkways mowed (VA is eliminating mowing) and keep their Rest Areas open?

(Answer? They don't run in fear from their residents. At rest areas you can grab a Starbucks, buy a NY Times,

fill your tank, use a bank ATM...in short, they are smart because they generate huge amounts of income for

the servicing of roads. The OTHER thing they do on many roads is charge tolls. Yes, I know the good folk of

VA don't "like" tolls, or car tax or anything that would actually PAY for the very roads that they use. Strange, right?

Virginians think they are somehow entitled?...to amazing highway infrastructure without assuming the

individual responsibility to pay for it? Closing rest areas...you get what you pay for.

I was thinking they decided to keep them open....

It is a big mistake to shut these stops down for a number of reasons.

1. Because this is against what the tax payers want!

2. Because there are long strips of road without a bathroom for travelers, police officers, etc.

3. This is a waste of resources. They are already built and serving us well.

There are probably pleanty more, but I can tell you that they have benefited me personally. I came home from a trip to Pigeon Forge TN with an upset stomach. We could not make it more than 20-40 miles without stopping. It was terrible! I was so glad when we came to a rest stop.

I am a police officer in Roanoke VA. I can only imagine how this an affect troopers caught down in the area of these closed stops when they need a bathroom.

If VDOT wants to save money start by doing repairs and road maintenance right the first time! You guys do very hard work that a lot of people are not cut out for. However, there is a large strip of road coming out of Montvale East on Rt 460 that was repaved. The right hand lane has bumps in it that was caused during repaving. The left side is fine. The bumps were obvious on my motorcylce before the left side was even done. Why? It is hard to notice in a car, but a supervisor should have noticed a problem at some point. I can only imagine what that job cost? The sink hole in Montvale is coming back..

The point is.. We can save money in other places. Why is everyone still on this kick to cut everywhere? Are things still that bad? Seems to me people are still spending lots of money on vacations and just to have fun in general.

Thank you VDOT for all you do! Let's be careful around work sites and remember to wave to these guys and gals to show them you appreciate their hard work!!

 Water wells from miles away (such as in Rural Retreat, VA; as reported in the Roanoke Times, a few years ago) are adulterated from the heavy concentration of human waste. With few rest-stops have purification links, wasted goes directly into the ground water (even though some field-drain lines and holding pools are used).  Toilet paper was actually found in home wells; traced to the Wythe County rest-stop.  Concentrated waste must be stopped. Waste must be processed, or, at least, 'spread-out.'  The proof is there.  If you want to drink water with NAFTA drivers human waste in it, open all stops. The ecology issue is one that few seem to recognize: humans need drinking water (and the case I cited is in a pristine, sparsely populated area). The rest stops that are left open should have better waste processing, in most cases. Otherwise, let the commercial interests serve the public. After all, most every exit has about 5 options. Just don't ruin people's wells.