A new, $1 billion interstate highway planned to connect Norfolk and Raleigh will open a high-speed, unobstructed route between a Virginia port and the Research Triangle.
The road, to be called Interstate 87, could take as long as two decades to complete. It has the support of elected officials, business leaders and agencies in Virginia and North Carolina, including both highway departments, chambers of commerce and all four senators.
“This is one of those things whose time has long since come,” said Joe Milazzo, executive director of the Regional Transportation Alliance, a business coalition in Raleigh.
Last year, Congress authorized the future interstate, which will be about 213 miles long. In May, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved the I-87 designation.
