Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993                   TAG: 9309280232
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WOULD JOBS ROLL TO TOWN ALONG I-73?

Interstate 73 could be an economic boon for the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia, Bowers said Monday.

North Carolina officials want the highway to follow the Interstate 77 corridor as it passes from West Virginia to North Carolina. That route would bypass Blacksburg and Roanoke.

But Bowers and City Council decided Monday to mount a campaign to get the road routed through Roanoke.

Council directed City Manager Bob Herbert to determine the status of the highway plans and advise the city on what it needs to do to lobby for the road.

Bowers said he does not want I-73 to become another missed opportunity for Roanoke.

City leaders missed an economic development opportunity two decades ago when they didn't fight to get Interstate 64 to intersect with Interstate 81 at Roanoke instead of Lexington, he said.

"There are so many things that a new interstate highway could bring to the valley," Bowers said. "It would tie into our efforts to increase tourism."

Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. said the proposed highway provides a "tremendous opportunity" for the New River and Roanoke valleys.

If the new interstate is routed through Blacksburg and Roanoke, Fitzpatrick said, it could dovetail with the proposed five-mile "smart' highway between Blacksburg and I-81.

The smart road could be a link in I-73 as it passes from Blacksburg to Roanoke, he said.

In West Virginia, plans call the new interstate to run through Huntington, Williamson and Princeton, Fitzpatrick said.

North Carolina officials prefer that the highway follow I-77 south from West Virginia to Mount Airy. The road would then run east by Winston-Salem to U.S. 220 south of Greensboro, where it would go south to Charleston.

Fitzpatrick said an alternate route in Virginia would be for the highway to follow the U.S. 460 corridor from Princeton, W.Va., to Blacksburg.

From Blacksburg, it could run to Roanoke and then south along U.S. 220, which could be upgraded to interstate standards, he said.

Fitzpatrick, who will leave council next month to become director of the New Century Council, said the highway has the potential to become a major catalyst for economic growth in the region.

In his new position, Fitzpatrick will be working to help stimulate economic growth in both the New River and Roanoke valleys.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has had a major role in planning the proposed highway.