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VDOT to start tackling troubled interstates in April

Posted at 7:04 PM, Mar 28, 2014
and last updated 2014-03-28 19:04:41-04

Dodging potholes on I-264 heading to and from work has been more than an inconvenience for driver Ryan Thumb.

"It's always been amazing to me that the economic engine of the Commonwealth has infrastructure that's worthy of a third world nation," Thumb says.

"It's nervewracking to drive on a road that's not safe," he says.

But next month, transportation officials say that will all change.

Of course, the unusually cold and snowy winter this year has played a big part in causing a bumpy commute for drivers.

But some say they appreciate VDOT's hustle to make temporary fixes.

"I mean, I think it was real bad when it first started getting cold. You could tell that the pavement just couldn't hold up. But they're out there every day. I've seen them most nights. They're closing a lane trying to fix stuff," Thumb says.

And permanently fixing the problem, officials say, is one of their top priorities.

They hoped to use the more than $120 million in construction funding to start a paving rehabilitation project on I-264 and I-64 this month.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature hasn't allowed for that.

Now VDOT says that will will begin in April, targeting some of the most troubled sections on the interstates.

Until then, drivers like Thumb say they'll have to make do.

"I tried to avoid it when I can but then of course there's some highly traveled surface streets that are not that much better."