Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 21, 1993 TAG: 9308260264
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK STANLEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In essence, they will vote to duplicate and parallel the existing Interstates 77 and 81. The route they are prepared to accept will provide no reduction in travel mileage and will result in increased travel time as compared to the interstates. It will result in little or no economic boost to affected communities within the proposed corridor. It will result in major environmental damage to one of the most beautiful and unspoiled areas of our state, crossing the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which was created to protect the state's highest peak.
The only fiscally responsible, environmentally acceptable decision is the no-build option. This option would continue to use the existing interstate system for through traffic.
The Virginia Department of Transportation Summary Report promised enhanced economic opportunities for those along the corridor of the U.S. 58 project. All of these claims are vague and unsubstantiated. At a hearing on the report last fall in Independence, no one with the transportation board or the consultants who helped prepare the report could back up the claims made for economic improvement.
Their deafening silence on this question only heightened awareness of how grossly inflated their estimates are. In fact, several studies, including those by the U.S. Department of Transportation (1980), National Governors' Association (1988) and the University of North Carolina, point out clearly that four-lane highways do not bring economic development to rural localities. Instead, they point to tourism and recreation as having the best probability of economic development.
A case in point on the myth of superhighways can be found right here in Southwest Virginia. Take a ride on U.S. 460 from Princeton, W.Va., to Blacksburg. The promised economic development is nonexistent. A few modern convenience stores have put out of business a few of the older gas stations. You won't see new motels or new industries, only boarded-up store fronts and trash.
Stop in the town of Newport and try to find signs of life, or ride to Pearisburg and see that the businesses have simply relocated out by the new road. No one is any better off than before. Damascus, a town located along a possible routing of U.S. 58, is being promised the moon, but more than likely will suffer the fate of Newport. A four-lane road won't bring retail business to them, it will only make it easier to head out to shop at Sam's and Wal-Mart.
In May 1992, the board chose a route for the four-lane superhighway which would bisect the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. There were so many negative aspects to this choice that government agencies administering potentially affected state and federal lands came out in opposition. These groups include the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Water Control Board, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Groups of private citizens were alarmed, as well. Those voicing opposition include the local Mountain Heritage Alliance, Appalachian Trail Conference and Trout Unlimited, among others. Each of these groups supports the no-build option as the only way to preserve the integrity of the Highlands area.
Environmentally sensitive areas that will be potentially affected are many. These are areas that tourists now spend their travel dollars to visit. Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Grayson Highlands State Park, the Appalachian Trail and Cherokee National Forest will be degraded. Comers Falls will be consumed, as will Hurricane campground, and with it hunting, fishing, hiking and other associated family activities.
In effect, the entire experience of visiting this beautiful area will be diminished. There will be increased noise, air and water pollution, litter, and diminished scenic qualities. All for no reason.
Many local people are justifiably concerned that their heritage and way of life will be destroyed. They don't want family farms divided and degraded by highway development. They fear increased crime due to transient criminals. It is forward-looking citizens such as these that have led the fight against what can only be described as a pork-barrel highway project. I am thankful they were concerned enough to bring this issue to the attention of the rest of us.
The Transportation Board, in an attempt to silence the agencies, groups and citizens opposed to the project, is prepared to choose a different corridor for U.S. 58. Sadly, this more southern route is considered the most environmentally damaging of the alternatives, according to VDOT's own Summary Report. This route also wastes $155 million and is a duplicate of existing interstates. The board appears uninterested in the no-build alternative, even though it is the only acceptable choice.
As serious as the issues already presented are, they pale beside the waste of taxpayer money. In recent elections, the message that politicians and policymakers should be receiving clearly is that we want fiscal responsibility. Are the federal government and the commonwealth of Virginia so awash in money that we can afford to throw away between $155 million and $162 million? Is this the greatest return that the taxpayer can receive on his investment? The answer is a clear and resounding no!
Every citizen of the Mountain Empire region, and, indeed, every citizen of the state should stand up in opposition to this waste of taxpayer money. It will provide no benefits to the region. It will bring economic well-being to no one except a handful of realtors and landowners. It will, however, bring environmental degradation and the loss of tourism and recreational opportunities. And with this will come the loss of jobs, real and potential, and damage to a natural treasure which we, as mere humans, can never hope to re-create.
\ Mark Stanley lives and works in Wytheville and is an owner of several Galax businesses. He is a frequent visitor to Grayson-Highlands and Mount Rogers.
by CNB