Hi there. I am the Southwest Virginia editor for Cardinal News, and you are reading the first edition of a column designed to deliver the latest news tidbits and community items of interest from the cities, towns and counties of far Southwest Virginia.
I want to share the news that impacts and interests our readers from the counties, towns and cities stretching from Bristol to Wytheville over to Russell, Wise and the coalfield counties near the Kentucky border, and including Lee and Scott counties.
I will feature news from the week and sometimes look at what’s coming up in the week ahead.
So, what’s going on in your hometown? Email me the details at susan@cardinalnews.org. I look forward to hearing from you.
In the meantime, check out the news this week from Bristol and Big Stone Gap.
I-81 widening project comes to an end
There’s reason to celebrate for those who regularly traverse Interstate 81 between Bristol and Abingdon and have dodged construction crews, heavy machinery, a rough road, and lots of dust and noise: The nearly two-and-a-half-year, $38 million widening of sections of the interstate is finally complete.
The new three-lane portion of I-81 is now open to traffic, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced Thursday in a news release. The project widens southbound I-81 to three lanes between exits 10 and 7, as well as the southbound bridge over Old Dominion Road. The project also widens to three lanes for 1 mile of northbound I-81 between Exit 7 and the bridge over Old Dominion Road.
The work, which began in January 2024, is part of the I-81 Corridor Improvement Program, which was designed to enhance safety, reduce congestion and support economic growth, according to VDOT.
Still, VDOT advises motorists traveling that part of the interstate to remain alert to small finishing work being done during the overnight hours in the coming weeks.
The combined traffic count for the northbound and southbound lanes of the interstate in the area of the widenings is around 53,000 vehicles per day.
Birthplace of Country Music Museum offers free admission to military families
Men and women who are currently serving in the U.S. military, and their families, can visit the popular Birthplace of Country Music Museum for free this summer.
The museum in downtown Bristol is participating in the Blue Star Museums program, which provides free admission to more than 2,000 history, art and children’s museums across the country.
The 2026 program began on Armed Forces Day, May 16, and will end on Labor Day, Sept. 7. Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and participating museums.
“Blue Star Museums has opened doors for military families to explore, connect, and feel at home,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families, in a news release. “As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, we’re proud to continue this partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and museums nationwide — welcoming military families into the heart of our nation’s story and celebrating them every step of the way.”
The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, explores the history of the 1927 Bristol Sessions and their lasting impact on music heritage.
Bike and skate park opens in Big Stone Gap
A bike and skate park recently opened in Big Stone Gap in memory of Tyler Flanary, an 18-year-old who died in a kayaking accident in 2018.
A crowd of regional partners and community members turned out Saturday for the opening of the park, which was a years-long collaborative effort.
The new outdoor recreational asset is located within Bullitt Park in the town’s downtown area. It features a Union Cycliste Internationale-rated asphalt pumptrack designed for competition-level biking, along with a competition-grade concrete skatepark with steel coping rails.
Flanary, a 2017 graduate of Union High School in Big Stone Gap, died in 2018. He was an avid skateboarder, which led his mother and stepfather, Tracey and Wayne Jordan, to establish a fundraising campaign to build the skate park.
Town leaders said it was Flanary’s $100,000 community-led memorial fund that became the foundation that helped make the project possible.
The project also involved the combined investment of the town, Friends of Southwest Virginia, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation, the Cumberland Forest Fund and the Rapha Foundation.
[Disclosure: The Anne & Gene Worrell Foundation is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Town Manager Stephen Lawson said the park is a community tribute/gathering place.
“The town of Big Stone Gap has worked hard to make this park a reality, and today we celebrate what our community has built together,” Lawson said in a news release. “The Tyler Flanary Bike & Skate Park is more than a recreational facility, it is a gathering place, a tribute, and a statement about the kind of community we are and the future we are building. We are proud to offer this space to our residents and to welcome visitors from across the region and beyond.”
The park is expected to become a regional attraction because the nearest bike and skate parks are nearly an hour away across the Tennessee line.
