For reference, for some non-Virginia folks....this is pretty much off the track, and fairly rural. There’s just not much of a reason to pass through the town.
I suppose the question is what percentage of the traffic load is local, as opposed to long-distance travelers passing through. The wisdom of the ages is that if the new road bypasses the town, it eventually kills the town. New businesses will be on the new road. The old downtown doesn't die overnight -- this takes 20-30 years -- but the long, slow decline is almost inevitable. Since the 1950's, small towns across America, my old hometown among them, have been committing suicide, aided and abetted by state DOT officials who never saw a town they wouldn't gut -- or an historic site they wouldn't destroy -- if it saved three minutes on a theoretical 100 mile drive. If the through truck traffic is sufficiently oppressive that residents want a bypass, fine. But otherwise, I'd let travelers endure a couple of stoplights and keep the town alive. Obviously local situations will vary.