Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 18, 1993 TAG: 9302180016
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
MUD THROWS WIDENING JOB A CURVE
Q: Last fall the paving seemed to be almost complete on the widening of Alternate U.S. 220 between Daleville and Bonsack, and we thought it would be a matter of days until the road opened. What happened? M.D., MontvaleA: Winter happened.
It's not cold, but it is wet. You can't grade in the mud, as contractors dislike saying.
Some work has continued through the winter, though its results are not obvious to the untrained eye, a Transportation Department spokesman says.
The big stuff, grading to tie in the new lanes to existing ones and to rebuild the old roadway to be part of the new one, should be complete by late May or June, the Transportation Department says.
This project will four-lane a 2.4-mile stretch of what used to be called Virginia 604, making Bedford and Lynchburg more accessible from Interstate 81.
The Transportation Department plans to start work later this year on the remainder of Alternate 220 all the way to U.S. 460, calling it a widening project.
People who live along the road probably call it straightening curves.
Cable-splitting problems
Q: I wonder about the legality of splitting my cable signal to a second TV. May I supply my own splitter and cable footage for the other TV, and thus save myself $6 a month? Does the same principle apply to cable TV that applies to the telephone? I supply the extra phone wire and telephone so I don't need to pay extra fees per phone. J.H., Roanoke
A: The phone company can charge us by the minute. Cable TV can't.
It's easy to split a cable signal to a second TV, but it's not the right thing to do.
Current terms of the cable TV contracts say the company's entitled to $6 per month for each additional outlet. Extra TVs demand a bit more signal power, says Philip Ahlschlager, Cox Cable's acting general manager.
The phone company's rates are based on knowing how much we use our phones. C&P sends us itemized bills every month.
The cable folks, so far, can't charge by the hour for TV watching.
That's a comforting thought - one area of privacy not yet invaded.
Camp Shangri-La
Q: Can you tell me what Camp David was named before it became Camp David? B.C., Salem
A: Franklin D. Roosevelt had the idea for a summer retreat from Washington's heat, and in 1942 it was opened in the Maryland mountains.
He called it Shangri-La, after the perfect mountain kingdom in the novel "Lost Horizon."
Dwight Eisenhower renamed it for his grandson, David, in 1953.
On hold at Franklin and Elm
Q: Why is there no right turn on the red light for Franklin Road southbound traffic turning right on Elm Avenue? With the improvements to that intersection it seems a right turn on red should be allowed.
A: Eventually it'll happen, says the city traffic engineer. The city has not yet acquired property on one corner, and so traffic-light poles are too far back from the intersection to allow a safe turn on red.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.