Interstate 581

I-81 / US 220 near Hollins
I-81 / US 220 near Hollins
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Counties	City of Roanoke, Roanoke
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future; Virginia Routes; Interstate; US; Primary; Secondary; Byways; History; HOT lanes;

Interstate 581 (I-581) is a spur off I-81 into Roanoke, Virginia, completely overlapping US Route 220 (US 220). It is planned to be connected to I-73. Future I-73 Corridor signs are marked on I-581 on the southbound side just after exit 2.^{[citation needed]}

Route description

The I-581 designation ends at the Elm Avenue (State Route 24 (SR 24)) interchange in downtown Roanoke, where US 220 continues south as the Roy L. Webber Expressway. I-581 was constructed as a six lane highway for its entire length and has not been widened in its history.

Many of I-581's exits are cloverleaf interchanges, which results in weaving. The northern terminus has short merge areas with I-81, particularly the left-lane southbound merge.

HDTV

, on Hershberger Road near I-581.

The southern end of I-581 offers views of the downtown Roanoke skyline, most prominently the Hotel Roanoke, the Wells Fargo Tower, the former Roanoke Shops of Norfolk Southern Railway, the Norfolk Southern tower, and St. Andrews Catholic Church. The Roanoke Star is also clearly visible.

Future

The road is planned to become part of an extension of I-73 in Virginia.^[3]

History

Roy L. Webber Expressway

In 1980, the highway was extended approximately 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from the Elm Avenue interchange to

sister cities

. The expressway was originally constructed with four lanes but was widened to six lanes in the mid-1990s.

Exit list

County	mi^[4]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
City of Roanoke	0.00	0.00		US 220 south – Martinsville	Continuation beyond SR 24; south end of US 220 overlap; future I-73
	0.00	0.00	6	SR 24 (Elm Avenue) – Vinton	Southern terminus
	0.66	1.06	5	Downtown	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 221 not signed
	0.97	1.56	4	US 460 (Orange Avenue) – Berglund Center	Signed as exits 4E (east) and 4W (west)
	2.65	4.26	3C	Valley View Boulevard – Airport	Diverging diamond interchange completed in November 2016 with new south bound exit and northbound entrance ramps, now providing complete access
	3.76	6.05	3	Airport	Signed as exits 3E (east) and 3W (west)
	5.51	8.87	2	SR 117 (Peters Creek Road)	Signed as exits 2N (north) and 2S (south)
tri-stack interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access