Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 19, 1990 TAG: 9007180215
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Peter Mathews
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Short
Law, who needs a permit for his cars because someone complained about his auto graveyard, says many of the vehicles were disabled by wrecks on the road or wore out from being driven on it.
Virginia 621 runs 21 scenic miles from U.S. 460 north of Blacksburg to Virginia 311 in Craig County. In Montgomery, only the first four miles east of 460 are paved.
The men say they've sought improvements to the rest of the road for decades. At the most recent road hearing in May, which both attended, one resident brought Roanoke Times accounts of a previous effort - in 1971.
Duncan notes that Craig County has little industry or revenue from the gas tax, but Craig managed to get its nine-mile stretch from the county line to 311 paved in the early '60s.
The residents would at least like to see some of the narrow stretches widened to make it safer. There are horse trails and a camp in the area, so a lot of visitors travel the road on weekends.
"These college kids who never drove on a gravel road, they think they can stop on a dime, you know?" Duncan says.
The county and the state Transportation Department do plan to pave the rest of 621. Work on a 3 1/2-mile section is scheduled to begin in 1994 and end late in 1995. The last four miles in Montgomery are scheduled to be done by July 1999.
by CNB