The days of convenient rest areas, freshly mowed grass and weed-free flower beds along the interstates in Southwest Virginia are coming to an end.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board on Thursday slashed transportation spending for the coming year and beyond.

The cuts, which begin July 1, are a response to a drop in taxes on gasoline and auto sales and other segments of the transportation sector that has left the state with an expected shortfall of more than $2.6 billion over the next six years.

Virginia highway officials intend to close seven of 14 rest areas along Interstate 81 late next month.

Those closing on July 20 or 21 will include the northbound Radford and southbound Troutville stops on I-81.

Those staying open will include the northbound Ironto and the southbound Radford stops on I-81.

The list of rest stops where going to the bathroom and taking a stretch will still be possible also includes two that double as welcome centers near the Tennessee and West Virginia lines.

Asked about the impact on Southwest Virginia tourism, Dave Kjolhede, executive director of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau said: "I don't like it. It kind of makes a statement that the state can't afford to keep our rest areas open."

He added that, because visitors are unlikely to base travel on rest stop availability, "I don't know that it will have a tremendously negative impact."

The closures are considered permanent. However, the state intends to seek approval to let private businesses operate the rest stops. It wishes to turn over the keys by 2011.

Those that do not reopen will be razed, according to current plans, officials said.

In support of truckers who want safe places to rest, the state intends to add 15 truck parking spaces to the Ironto rest area, bringing the total there to 38, and add five at the Radford rest area, bringing the total there to 19.

Among the other cuts, the state intends to eliminate safety patrols in the region on July 1. Those patrols, focused on I-81 and I-581, completed 4,173 assists in Southwest Virginia last year.

Meanwhile, state transportation leaders voted to end all subsidies for interstate flower displays and mow medians and roadsides less often.

Flower funding will be limited to the money raised by selling wildflower-themed licensed plates. That money has in the past amounted to about one-twentieth of the state funds spent on roadside flowers during the past five years.

With the state subsidy about to end, "there will be obviously fewer patches of wildflowers across the state," Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Heidi Underwood said.

While bulbs and seeds may sprout on their own, maintenance work to weed the beds will be minimal in Southwest Virginia, she said.

Already, VDOT is curbing mowing and flower bed care at urban intersections. In some cases, weeds are up.

In a further budget reduction still taking shape, VDOT will trim its work force and facilities.

In the 12-county Salem District, which covers the Roanoke and New River valleys and nearby communities, the work force stood at 939 Thursday. An undetermined number will be let go, Underwood said.

Salem District leaders intend to close two of six local offices, called residencies, and nine of 13 equipment maintenance and repair shops.

Thursday's budget cut comes after previously announced reductions in highway construction plans that eliminated hundreds of projects.

"These are not easy decisions to make," said David Ekern, VDOT commissioner, in a prepared release. "It is a sobering reality that we cannot balance our budget with the drastic reduction to the construction program. We must also scale back on services to motorists.

"Even with these sacrifices, we still face the need for a significant reorganization that will shrink VDOT's staffing by 1,000 full-time and 450 part-time employees."