Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110074
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The stalled rails-to-trails project cleared one of the final regulatory hurdles as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources lent its approval to construction of the six-mile bikeway and footpath.
Significant obstacles remain, yet trail organizers now say they hope to advertise the project for bids by mid-August. Construction could begin by the fall - if all goes well.
Original plans were to have trail construction between Blacksburg and the New River Valley Mall completed by this summer. However, work has yet to begin because of a series of delays involving environmental regulations and governmental red tape.
The Department of Historic Resources frustrated project organizers by withholding its approval for four months while it reviewed the trail's impact on archaeological sites and historical areas.
Now the agency says it will be satisfied by minor design modifications at sensitive locations along the pathway.
"It certainly was a roadblock. We're glad to get it behind us," said Lance Terpenny, chairman of the trail's engineering committee.
Remaining are reviews and approval of the project by agencies such as the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the Federal Highway Administration and the VIrginia Department of Transportation.
Organizers hope for relatively fast rubber-stamp approval so the project can move ahead. Yet they've learned to hedge their bets, Terpenny said.
Two other unresolved issues also complicate the trail's progress:
nVDOT has yet to rule on a request to build the trail in phases rather than all at once, as originally planned. Delays and cost increases influenced organizers to seek state approval to build an initial stage of the trail from Blacksburg to Merrimac Road.
nThe Commonwealth Transportation Board will consider the trail's request for a $300,000 supplemental grant May 18. That's the approximate amount organizers say it will take to build the trail's second phase.
If the state gives a thumbs-down to either or both of those requests, it's back to the drawing board for government officials and the citizens group People Advocating the Huckleberry - PATH.
by CNB