Augusta Marketplace

The Augusta County Board of Supervisors approved going ahead with the large Augusta Marketplace development at Wednesday's meeting.
As a resident, I'm not sure the county can support this development and what's going on in Waynesboro. But as a former I-81 traveler, it would catch my eye.
From 1987 to 1995, I drove I-81 back and forth on visits between Bluefield and my parents' home in Baltimore. When I drove past exit 225, I knew I was halfway there.
But I rarely remember stopping in Staunton for food or gas. I stopped in Woodstock a lot on the south-bound trip, and often hit Harrisonburg going north-bound. Sometimes I would exit on exit 150 in Roanoke, but usually I stuck to the road through Rockbridge and Augusta Counties. I knew Staunton was there, but prior to 1995 nothing jumped out at me to get me to stop.
I-81 is definitely a pretty drive, and a development behind the big hotels won't change my impression as a through traveler.