Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 13, 1992 TAG: 9202130372
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE and GREG EDWARDS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
`SMART ROAD' OPPONENTS TURN UP HEAT
Opponents of the Blacksburg-Roanoke direct highway link feel powerless against the political clout of one of the road's staunchest supporters, and were angered by his comments this week.But they're writing letters to the governor anyhow, and to legislators and local officials urging them to drop the proposed project.
"It seems like we're just shouting into the wind," said Adelia "Dee" Arrington, president of the Ellett Valley Ruritan Club.
"If what we had to say the other night did not sway the Board of Supervisors, then I think that there's not much else we can do."
Arrington and other road foes gathered about 1,000 signatures on petitions and spoke out at a Montgomery County board meeting Monday night, trying to get supervisors to drop ther support for the project.
But Steve Musselwhite, Salem District member of the state Board of Transportation, later hinted that the supervisors would be jeopardizing state funds for another much-needed road if they withdrew support for the link.
The other road is called Alternate 3A, a bypass of the crowded section of U.S. 460 in the fast-growing middle of the county.
Montgomery supervisors have scheduled a special meeting Monday at 7 p.m.
Three days later, the Transportation Board is scheduled to vote on the link, which is called Alternate 6.
Rick Roth, a Virginia Tech graduate student and Blacksburg homeowner, said he was outraged. He's sending packets of information to other Transportation Board members and state officials, he said, but "I don't know if it'll do any good."
Musselwhite, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 6th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been a major booster of the project.
The six-mile, $100 million-plus road would run from south Blacksburg through Ellett Valley to Interstate 81.
Backers say the road is vital to economic development by tying the university and satellite research firms in Blacksburg with the larger companies and cultural activities of Roanoke.
The link has received $5 million in federal money as a testing ground for "smart road" technology, using innovative electronics.
Supervisor Larry "Nick" Rush has asked his colleagues to withdraw support because of the high cost and the environmental harm he says construction will cause. Last year, the previous board supported the link.
Chairman Ira Long said he has invited Musselwhite to next week's meeting, as well as Blacksburg and Tech officials.
Long, who supports the link, said he thought comments from supporters of the road will clear up the questions some supervisors have.
Citizens will not be invited to speak, in keeping with the practice of not allowing public comment at special meetings, Long said.
Supervisors from the Blacksburg area say they have been flooded with phone calls and mail, mostly from the road foes.
Opponents seem "a thousand times" more organized than those who support the road, said Supervisor Larry Linkous. However, he said, one Ellett Valley resident called him to say that not everyone in the valley is against the road.
What's at stake, said Tech spokesman Larry Hincker, is an agreement by the various political subdivisions of Montgomery County that would benefit all sections of the county.
"All need to stand together," he said.
Hincker said he's flabbergasted that people still think that Alternate 3A bypass will be able to handle all the traffic that will be flowing into Blacksburg in the next 20 years.
With the backing of Musselwhite, the link has a strong chance of approval by the Transportation Board next week.
One board member, Edgar Bacon of the Bristol District, said he favors the road based on what Musselwhite has told him.
He said he has not heard a full explanation of the link from the Virginia Department of Transportation staff or consultants.
He said Musselwhite has told him there was some opposition. He added that Musselwhite's recommendation, as the district representative for the project, would weigh heavily in his own decision.
"And whatever he suggests will go a long way because he's such a personable young man," Bacon said.