Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 7, 1992 TAG: 9201070175
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TAINTED SOIL RESHAPES ROAD PROJECT
So why has the convenience store at Franklin Road and Elm Avenue been omitted from the Franklin Road widening project?That's the question some motorists are asking as they drive through the construction project near downtown Roanoke.
The answer: gasoline-polluted soil.
Tests have revealed contamination at the C-Mart site, which is in the right of way for the $1.7 million road-widening project.
The Virginia Department of Transportation won't buy the store and incorporate the property into the project until the contaminated soil is cleaned up.
"It is basically out of our hands until [the property is cleaned up] and we can negotiate a price for it," said Laura Bullock, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Department.
Bullock said Monday that the pollution issue won't delay the rest of the widening of Franklin Road between Mountain Avenue and Third Street. The plans have been revised to eliminate an additional turning lane at Franklin and Elm, she said.
"The project has been redesigned so we can complete it without" acquiring the convenience store, she said. If the store is acquired later, the department can add the additional lane without any problem, she said.
The Virginia Water Control Board's staff is reviewing a report on the extent of the pollution before deciding how it should be cleaned up.
David Miles, ground-water program manager for the board's regional office, said the agency is working with state and city transportation officials.
The Coastal Mart Corp., owner of the store, has sent a report to the Water Control Board, but hasn't accepted responsibility for the contamination. "We periodically test our tanks and we have never had a reported leak there," said Barbara Johnson, a spokeswoman for Coastal Mart.
"We question the source of the contamination," Johnson said, adding that the company has no cost estimate for cleaning up the pollution.
E.C. Pace Co. of Roanoke, the general contractor, has until Oct. 1 to complete the project, which will widen Franklin to four lanes.
Construction had been scheduled to start in the fall of 1990 and to have been completed by summer. But the project was rebid twice because the bids were higher than the estimated cost.
To lower the cost, city and state transportation officials revised the plans, and the contractor was given more time to finish the work.
The section of Franklin Road carries about 10,000 vehicles daily, and the projected traffic count is 14,000 by the year 2010.