Virginia has dismissed a highway construction team brought in four years ago to improve the safety of Interstate 81.

"The procurement process with Star Solutions has ended," Jeff Caldwell, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said Wednesday.

While that might sound like a huge setback, Caldwell said that no date or commitment to widen the interstate had existed.

For that reason, the loss of the Star Solutions initiative will not necessarily delay highway work.

The state chose Star Solutions -- a consortium of professional firms -- in February 2004 to lead Virginia's effort to relieve congestion and heavy truck traffic on I-81, which runs for 323 miles in Virginia, from Bristol to Winchester.

During the nearly four years that have passed, the players completed numerous environmental studies but were a long way from deciding the details of a major interstate fix, Caldwell said.

That's not to say the project was behind schedule. Time frames in the highway improvement game are extremely long, with VDOT budgeting its funds up to six years in advance.

A variety of isolated highway improvements that were advancing will stay on track, Caldwell said. VDOT plans on Tuesday to offer design and contracting firms a shot at adding truck-climbing lanes in the Shenandoah Valley. In the fall, the state plans to invite firms to step up to build truck-climbing lanes in Montgomery County.

These are among $730 million worth of proposed I-81 projects in the pipeline through 2013.

"We're going to still work to find solutions for I-81," Caldwell said.

The lead Star Solutions contractor, KBR Inc., a Houston engineering and construction company, told VDOT last month it was pulling out of the partnership.

KBR, which severed ties with its former parent company Halliburton in April, said in its Dec. 18 withdrawal letter that it had to "manage its business profile very carefully."

A brief company statement Wednesday shed little additional light.

"The terms and conditions offered in the VDOT interim agreement for the development of certain I-81 corridor safety and operational improvements were such that KBR respectfully declined to participate in this opportunity as currently structured," the statement said.

As a result, state transportation commissioner David Ekern terminated the Star Solutions relationship. He shared that news Wednesday in a public meeting in Richmond.

Caldwell said he did not know how much money had been paid to Star Solutions so far.