Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 21, 1992 TAG: 9202210382
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
`SMART ROAD' ROUTE APPROVED
In the time it takes to say "aye," the state Board of Transportation set the course Thursday for Southwest Virginia's multimillion-dollar journey into the future.The board voted unanimously to approve a route for the Blacksburg-to-Roanoke "smart road," positioning the region to become a mecca for Jetsonesque transportation research and development.
"All right," said a pleased Wayne Clough, dean of Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, on hearing the news. "We were hoping they wouldn't change their minds."
Tech has helped steer the project to national recognition as the first-of-its-kind test bed for Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems, or IVHS.
The five-mile road, or "direct link," would run from south Blacksburg through Ellett Valley to Interstate 81 a few miles north of old Exit 37. On a motion by Salem District member Steve Musselwhite, the board dropped an interchange along the link in the heart of the valley. That interchange had been opposed by many citizens and Montgomery County.
Besides being used to test IVHS technology, the road would speed travel between the Roanoke Valley and Virginia Tech and reduce traffic congestion in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-U.S. 460 corridor. Boosters of the road say that would create a closer psychological tie between the Roanoke Valley and Tech, one of the nation's leading research universities. And that could boost economic development here, particularly in high-tech fields, they say.
Earlier Thursday, Tech administrators learned that General Motors Foundation had pledged $250,000 for students to study IVHS.
The project has already received $5.9 million in federal money, and there's a lot more where that came from, Transportation Commissioner Ray Pethtel said.
Pethtel said he hopes the federal government, which has earmarked $660 million for innovative transportation research, will fund the road as a fully automated highway.
"That's where you [would] pull out onto that sucker, hit all the switches, pull out your newspaper and go," said another state Department of Transportation official, acting out the scene as he spoke.
Other highway officials and board members seemed as enthusiastic about the prospects for a "smart road" in Virginia.
"While the project was [already] on the stove, this puts it on the front burner," Musselwhite said. "People in Washington, D.C., are very excited about it."
Musselwhite has for years promoted the project with a driving enthusiasm that did not go unnoticed by his colleagues.
"Mr. Musselwhite has given leadership to what I think will be a good project for that area," said Fredericksburg District member Lawrence Davies. "His enthusiasm, and discussions with him, pretty much sold me on it."
Another board member, G. Morris Wells Jr., an at-large member representing rural interests, said the more he found out about the road and its technology, the more he was impressed.
"He's a pretty thorough person, and I'm not just saying that because he's running for Congress," Wells said of Musselwhite.
Musselwhite is seeking the Democratic nomination for the House of Representatives in the 6th District.
He said he's talked with board members individually for several years about the project, and that a majority had flown over the proposed corridor.
Pethtel said the "smart road" would be the first in the world to be built in stages, incorporating new technology as it is developed. Roads in other countries have been built to test one kind of technology, he said.
Actual cost estimates for the road remain fuzzy, as does the question of where the money will come from. Backers have said all along, and Musselwhite reaffirmed Thursday, that "non-traditional" funding will be used so as not to compete with other projects for scarce tax dollars.
The original estimate for the four-lane highway was $81 million in 1990 dollars. That appears outdated.
More recent assessments show it will cost $55 million for preliminary engineering, acquiring the right of way for four lanes, building the first two lanes and grading and draining the area for the other two lanes, Pethtel said.
A bond issue has been mentioned as one way to pay for that phase. The House of Delegates recently passed a bond package crafted by Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, that includes $28 million for the direct link.
The second two lanes would be built in sections, using the latest in technology at the time. Most of the money for that likely will come from private corporations such as GM and Ford Motor Co., which also has shown keen interest in the demonstration project.
State Secretary of Transportation John Milliken said a future board could always decide to use agency money for the road, but added that if anything, state finances are likely to get a lot tighter.