Crews move in next month to begin reconstruction in Exit 17 area of Abingdon

The Virginia Department of Transportation has announced the start of an upcoming project that will help improve traffic flow in the Exit 17 area of Abingdon.

Crews from Phillips Construction of Kentucky will begin work next month on $13 million in improvements off Interstate 81 that will expand the on and off-ramps at the exit, the reconstruction, and relocation of Gravel Lake Road, and the relocation of a frontage road near the off-ramp.

City and county leaders have gotten complaints about bottlenecks and long lines of traffic as part of a congestion problem around Exit 17 which is a major off-point for those traveling to South Holston Lake and the Creeper Trail as well as a new retail area that will soon have a new sports complex neighbor in the coming months.

VDOT has tentatively set completion for the project for the fall of 2022.

(IMAGE: GM)