Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 11, 1993 TAG: 9306110293
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Federal approval paves the way for Virginia Tech and the state Department of Transportation to begin technical design for the road, said Ray Pethtel, state transportation commissioner.
"The smart road is an important transportation project for that area," he said. "I'm always delighted to see projects move into the next stage."
The controversial road is still years away from completion, Pethtel said, and the next big obstacle is finding funds to build the $82 million highway.
The preferred route for the road is a five-mile stretch from south Blacksburg to Interstate 81, about 2 1/2 miles north of Exit 118.
The federal government has approved $5.9 million in funding to pay for planning for the road, and much of that money will be funneled through Virginia Tech. The state contributed $100,000 in matching funds needed for the federal grant.
The university will help make major decisions on the road. If there are temperature sensors to warn drivers of road conditions, for example, Tech would help decide where they would be most effective: under the pavement, in the pavement or in a bump on top of the pavement.
Tony Hobeika, director of Tech's Center for Transportation Research, said he is eager to begin work on the project.
"It's very important that we move ahead with this as quickly as possible," he said. "We've been waiting a long time."
Work will begin after the state receives written approval of the environmental-impact statement from the federal government in about 30 days, Pethtel said.
The project has drawn public opposition, mostly since a draft environmental-impact statement was released in the fall of 1991.
Shireen Parsons, president of the New River Sierra Club, said the environmental group will continue to fight construction of the road.
"We are still opposed and still not convinced it is going to happen," she said. "There is tremendous citizen opposition to the highway. The more I learn about it, the more disgusted I become."
Much of the opposition focused on an interchange along the link in the heart of rural Ellett Valley, which citizens said would pave the way for unwanted development.
Plans for that interchange have been dropped, but other environmental concerns include potential ground water pollution, disturbance of wildlife and possible damage of endangered species' habitats.
Pethtel said the Federal Highway Administration agreed with the state that many of those concerns can can be avoided or mitigated in the design of the road.
Early in the design process, an advisory committee, which includes some opponents to the project, will be formed, he said.
Pethtel said projects of this scope generally take about a year and a half to design, but he expects it to take longer because it involves smart-technology research. After the road is designed, it will take about two more years to acquire the right of way and at least another two years to build the road.
Of course, everything after the design phase depends on finding funds to build the road.
"Nobody knows where the funding for construction of the road is going to come from," said Dan Brugh, resident engineer in Christiansburg for the state transportation department.
Brugh explained that the bulk of money for the link would come from "nontraditional" sources, such as a bond issue, federal grants and corporate donations. It would not compete for limited funds with other projects in the Salem transportation district or elsewhere in the state.
Projects such as the proposed bypass between Christiansburg and Blacksburg - known as the 3A option - Brugh and Pethtel agree are the top road priorities in the New River Valley.
In April 1992, Gov. Douglas Wilder vetoed a bill that would have allowed a bond issue of $28 million for the road.
Gordon Willis, chairman of the University Connection, a Roanoke-based committee pushing the link, said he hopes the state legislature will reconsider the bond issue next year.
Pethtel said the state also may be able to cash in on some of the federal money earmarked for defense conversion.
For instance, a company that has been making composite materials for the military could make a composite bridge for the road.
"In view of the tremendous interest in defense conversion, that is a real possibility," he said.
by CNB