THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, February 11, 1997            TAG: 9702110003
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                            LENGTH:   25 lines

HIGHWAY 17: DEAD MAN'S ALLEY?

Since August 1994, six people have lost their lives on Highway 17 between the North Carolina line and Dominion Boulevard. Six little crosses act as a reminder each time you travel that highway.

Is the highway we know as the canal bank becoming another ``dead man alley''? What, if anything, can we here in North Carolina do about this problem? What should the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) be doing?

VDOT is in the process of acquiring the property to widen Highway 168 from Great Bridge to Moyock. It seems that getting tourists to the Outer Banks of North Carolina has a higher priority than moving North Carolinians back and forth to their jobs in Virginia, not to mention possibly saving a few lives.

This concerns a good many of the people here in North Carolina, especially all the shipyard workers, those employed at the military bases, many construction workers and all who shop in Virginia. The city of Chesapeake and the state of Virginia may need to reprioritize.

JULIUS WILLIAMS

Camden, N.C., Feb. 5, 1997