I 81 in Va.

[linux3]

Just got to Winchester VA from Hungry Mother State Park in Southern VA.
Interstate 81 is a nightmare!
Trucks, trucks, trucks.
This is a Wednesday and both lanes were heavy. Trucks trying to pass other trucks and cars weaving in and out. Not much construction but just density meant speeds were often below 60 MPH.
A lot of the road has VERY small shoulders and major bumps and whoop-dee-doos.

[Nuke]

Live very near Hungry Mother State Park. Weekdays always have a significant amount of trucks on I-81. Didn't use to be like that; it is getting worse. I've seen much worse in the NE, but 81 has it's share.

I think VDOT makes the roads that way just to test our driving skills, especially the whoop--dee-doos and the bumpity-bumps!

Hope you enjoyed Hungry Mother - it is one of our favorite places.

[linux3]

Hope you enjoyed Hungry Mother - it is one of our favorite places.

Electric, water and sewer in a state campground. Plus they had pretty quick free WiFi. I have never seen that at a state campground.

[gearhead]

We were leaving the Richmond NASCAR race and I-81 southbound was shutdown from a wreck. We sat on the freeway for an hour then the highway patrol sent all traffic into the city of Roanoke. Good grief what a mess. No officers directing traffic. No one knew where to go. 18 wheeler gridlock on city streets. Wife got the iPad map going and I got the truck GPS going. We finally got out. Much frustration.

[kksfish]

Rod, I feel your pain with I81! We were at Hungry Mother recently and for what irs worth as bad as 81 was/is it got even worse when I got on to 64!

But on the plus side Hungty Mother was a great cg.....did you try the weekend buffet at the park restaurant? Normally we avoid buffets but this one was extremely nice!

[flybouy]

Took I 81 from from Winchester, VA to Dollywood in TN. From Front Royal south it was unbelievably beat up from trucks. I have driven all over the US for the last 58 years and this was the first time I have seen a black top road with 4 ruts in each lane.:eek: The road was rutted to about 4" deep in rows of two (from the duallys on the 18 wheelers) and was maddening to drive. Apparently my trailer track was just shy of the ruts so the trailer was constantly trying to fall into, or climb out of one rut or another. :banghead:I can only imagine the drivers behind me thinking that I either had a sway problem or a drinking problem!:hide:

[Tbos]

I-81 has been super busy for a long time. I had the misfortune of having a blowout on it several years ago. That was an adventure. Fortunately the State Police and VA emergency road service personnel showed up and changed the tire. There was no way I could do it on that soft shoulder that was angled down from the road. Late at night the truckers are resting and the drive is more pleasant.

Where are you staying in Winchester? I’ll be there this weekend but not camping.

[DOWva]

I live in Virginia and I try to never travel I-81 its a real pain in the #%% because of the 18 wheelers.

[Jim & Kay]

It can be difficult sharing the road with 18 wheelers but on the flip side, we are blessed they are out there delivering the goods to the stores. I have never seen a landing strip or railroad at Walmart or any other retail store. I enjoy giving the truckers a break when I'm traveling over the interstates. Happy trails.

[linux3]

I-81 has been super busy for a long time.
Where are you staying in Winchester? I’ll be there this weekend but not camping.
We stayed at Candy Hill Campground. Pretty nice except for the Newmar rally.
All those giant motorhomes around our little 20' TT.

[laidback]

Much better than I-95.

[ken56]

Show me an interstate that ISN'T full of trucks and beat up. Going around Birmingham I thought I was going to lose a tire and wheel. I-95 I felt like Evel Kinevil being launched off every joint on every bridge. I-94 in MI you could walk across the trucks all the way to Chicago. I-40 is like Daytona speedway. That is why I try to stay off interstates and use secondary roads. Much nicer, much safer although somewhat slower. Lots more to see.

[flybouy]

It can be difficult sharing the road with 18 wheelers but on the flip side, we are blessed they are out there delivering the goods to the stores. I have never seen a landing strip or railroad at Walmart or any other retail store. I enjoy giving the truckers a break when I'm traveling over the interstates. Happy trails.

I hold the state accountable for the condition of the roads. I 81 is a major thoroughfare for the Virginia "Inland Port" and given the amount of tax dollars paid by drivers and transportation companies the state should invest that money back into the road system. I've been thinking of installing a bull rope in the seats to help with the ride.

[Old Mustanger]

Been traveling I30, I40 & I81 from Dallas to Maryland at least 2 times a year for 35 years, last 10 with either a TT or 5th wheeler. If you think I81 is bad (and I'm not saying it isn't), drive I30 thru Arkansas, you can get seasick on that one.:eek:

[Ccrew]

Took I 81 from from Winchester, VA to Dollywood in TN. From Front Royal south it was unbelievably beat up from trucks. I have driven all over the US for the last 58 years and this was the first time I have seen a black top road with 4 ruts in each lane.:eek: The road was rutted to about 4" deep in rows of two (from the duallys on the 18 wheelers) and was maddening to drive.

Sorry, I live just off 81 in Winchester, just north of Front royal and I call BS on this description. If we go just about anywhere we pretty much have to drive on it so we know every mile of it well. I'll agree it's a heavily travelled road and it could certainly benefit from an additional lane, but I can think of a LOT worse roads than 81.

[flybouy]

Sorry, I live just off 81 in Winchester, just north of Front royal and I call BS on this description. If we go just about anywhere we pretty much have to drive on it so we know every mile of it well. I'll agree it's a heavily travelled road and it could certainly benefit from an additional lane, but I can think of a LOT worse roads than 81.

Sorry if I offended your delicate sensibility, however, there was no embellishment in my description. Just my honest assessment of a ridiculously poorly maintained highway.

[Ccrew]

Sorry if I offended your delicate sensibility, however, there was no embellishment in my description. Just my honest assessment of a ridiculously poorly maintained highway.

No delicate sensibilities here, I just know overstatements when I see them when I live it every day. Like the Baltimore Beltway up your way is a wonderful road or something.

[JRTJH]

Gentlemen,

Please..... There's enough potholes to share without being greedy.... And, if by chance you happen to run out, come to Michigan, we've got more than we need......

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming......

[66joej]

Gentlemen,

Please..... There's enough potholes to share without being greedy.... And, if by chance you happen to run out, come to Michigan, we've got more than we need......

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming......


Not yet! Come to Canada. Especially Northwestern Ontario.

[Ccrew]

Gentlemen,

Please..... There's enough potholes to share without being greedy.... And, if by chance you happen to run out, come to Michigan, we've got more than we need......

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming......

Naa, I bought my TT in Muskegon. I ran I-96 there and the way home. You win, hands down! :)

[flybouy]

Gentlemen,

Please..... There's enough potholes to share without being greedy.... And, if by chance you happen to run out, come to Michigan, we've got more than we need......

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming......

I agree on the enough to go around. I get defensive when someone essentially tells me I'm lying. Apparently Ccrew has intimate knowledge of all 324.9 miles of I 81 in VA, or maybe his truck rides better than mine, or maybe he knows someone that works for the highway dept. and is defensive of that, but when someone calls me BS then I take offense. Nuff said.

[Ccrew]

So much for taking the advice to drop it, huh?

I mean you do have a Ford, so having a better truck ain't hard :)

[flybouy]

So much for taking the advice to drop it, huh?

I mean you do have a Ford, so having a better truck ain't hard :)

I'm not a quitter, that's why I drive a Ford. :lol: I like to poke the bear, it's fun, and I can take a poke as well. Just having fun, or did you think I was really going to install a bull riding rope in my front seats?:popcorn:

[ctbruce]

Now if we could just get the VW Bug drivers to stay in the potholes, problem solved!

[Dave W]

I have to agree that I81 has bad traffic but also have to say that it is no worse then many others in the US these days. We travel I81 (Binghamton, NY)at least to I64 (Staunton)fairly regularly and if hauling the 5er just get in the slow (HA!) lane and let the idiots pass us by. I81 just North of Harrisburg is where I did the ultimate test last fall of the disc brakes on that 5er.

All I can say about the traffic is to get used to it. More people with more dollars to spend mean that the roads are busier then what they were designed to handle, cars and trucks carrying all that Chinese crap to your favorite store.

Locally, we have I87, Adirondack Northway. That interstate was mostly two lanes for the first 20 years of its existence. Now three from Albany to North of Lake George and it is full of cars and trucks as it is the main road from NY City to Montreal and our OSOGREAT state government feels that instead of fixing roads that all use, it's better to apply pork to 'social' projects, benefiting few (my political diatribe for the day).

Oh, and our Fords handle the bumps well:rolleyes:

[flybouy]

Now if we could just get the VW Bug drivers to stay in the potholes, problem solved!

The "pizza pothole" commercial got me thinking, I know, dangerous right? So I was thinking why not make a template with free parking and an icon of a Prius (so the millennials will understand) and paint the potholes! Anybody else in?