Transportation to Blacksburg

Blacksburg is a relatively small place located away from major urban centers. Travelling to Blacksburg can be a real issue especially if you are starting from the other side of the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean.

Location

Blacksburg is located in Southwest Virginia. 5 kilometers from Blacksburg is Christiansburg where Interstate 81 meets US 460. The nearest big city is Roanoke and the nearest metropolitan area is Charlotte, North Carolina.

Car

Interstate 81 one of the busiest highways on the East Coast. It is two lanes in each direction, with designated truck climbing lanes along steep inclines. Traffic varies depending on time of day, but tends to be very heavy on game days. In many cases though a private vehicle is the only way you can reach the town.

Bus

Blacksburg Transit mostly serves the town of Blacksburg. The Two Town Trolley will get you to the Christiansburg Walmart and from there you can catch the Shopper Express to other destinations in Christiansburg.

Radford Transit's 40 bus line connects Radford and Christiansburg/Blacksburg. Tickets cost $1.

The Smart Way bus connects Blacksburg With Roanoke. It serves in Blacksburg Alumni Mall and the Post office, in Christiansburg Kmart Shopping Center and I-81 Park and Ride, the Roanoke Park and Ride, Roanoke Regional Airport, Hotel Roanoke and Campbell Court in Downtown Roanoke. The last bus is around 9 so those coming from across the Atlantic to Roanoke airport often have to find different transportation to Blacksburg. It costs $4 each way.

As of July 19 2011 the Smart Way Connector bus connects Blacksburg and Roanoke to the Lynchburg AMTRAK station, with a stop at Bedford. During the week there is a bus from Hotel Roanoke that starts at 5.45 AM, Friday Saturday and Sunday morning it starts at Blacksburg at Squires. There is return bus in the evening that on Friday, Saturday and Sunday arrives at Blacksburg. The ticket costs $4

Megabus begun offering in November 2010 service from Christiansburg to Washington, DC and Knoxville, Tennessee. It stops at Christiansburg Park and Ride. Prices vary depending on when you book.

The nearest Greyhound bus terminal is Campbell Court in Roanoke.

Home Ride offers buses on Fridays connecting Blacksburg with Vienna VA (terminus of the Washington DC metro Orange Line) and Richmond and return trips on Sundays. This service is only offered in the Fall and Spring semesters.

From time to time, especially around Spring and Fall breaks and graduation/orientation parents and students pool resources to charter buses to various destinations like Philadelphia.

Rail

The nearest train station is in Charlottesville. From there you can take the Northeast corridor all the way to Boston. In July 2011 the city of Roanoke intends to start Smart Way Bus service from Roanoke to Charlottesville that will connect with the train. Eventually they hope to extend train service to Roanoke and eventually Bristol, but the current planning is for train to arrive in Roanoke in 2015.

Airports

Montgomery Executive Airport only serves general aviation. The nearest airport with scheduled passenger flights is Roanoke Regional Airport, which is connected to Blacksburg with the Smart Way Bus. Alternatively you can take a taxi for about $50-$60. It is a 45 minute trip by car/cab and about 70 minutes by Smart Way bus.

Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA) has direct flights to Washington-Dulles, Charlotte-Douglas, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Philadelphia International Airport, Chicago O'Hare, New York LaGuardia and Orlando-Sanford.

The nearest international airport is Charlotte-Douglas (CLT). It is a little over 3 hours from Blacksburg depending on traffic. Charlotte receives transatlantic and transpacific flights

Other nearby airports with regular flights are Lynchburg, VA (LYH) about 75-90 minutes away, Lewisburg, West Virginia (LWV) about 2 hours, Charlottesville, VA (CHO) about 2 hours away, Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave, VA (SHD) 2 hours 15 minutes, Piedmont Triad International airport in Greensboro, NC (PTI) 2 hours 45 minutes and the Washington, DC airports which are approximately four and a half hours away.