
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, September 27, 1993                   TAG: 9310150359
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN B. FLEMING
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

I-73 : A SMARTER HIGHWAY FOR VIRGINIA?

CONSIDERABLE attention has been given the proposed "smart" highway running five miles from Blacksburg to Interstate 81. Many area leaders portray it as an economic panacea.

I respectfully disagree with this position, and argue the proposal is not farsighted and is very narrowly focused. What seems quite curious is the total lack of discussion of a highway proposal that has much greater potential for the future of the entire region.

Primarily through the efforts of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, planning is now under way for I-73, a new north-south interstate highway between Detroit, Mich., and Charleston, S.C. The segment in West Virginia will run from Huntington along U.S. 52 to Williamson, and to Bluefield onto U.S. 460. North Carolina's governor on May 14 announced that he would like I-73 to enter the state on existing I-77. From there, the road would go to Mount Airy on U.S. 52, to I-40 in Winston-Salem, then on I-40 to U.S. 311, entering U.S. 220 north of Ashboro, and from there south.

Both West Virginia and North Carolina envision the new interstate highway creating new economic development in the areas along and near the corridor. Floyd and Giles County leaders want I-73 to continue along U.S. 460 from Bluefield into Giles and Montgomery counties, following Virginia 8 south to the North Carolina border.

Another possible route that would serve the economic interests of the region and motorists alike would be to run I-73 from U.S. 460 in Bluefield to Blacksburg, then cut over to Roanoke and on south, connecting with U.S. 220. The economic benefits from such a road would greatly exceed those from a very limited five-mile "smart" highway. The new stretch of I-73 could also serve as a vehicle for "smart" highway research. On the downside, environmental issues exist for such a move.

What appears striking is that out of all of the recent discussions of our area needs for the 21st century, there seems a total lack of recognition of the potential of I-73. If West Virginia and North Carolina see the new road as creating new economic growth, why not consider the same possibilities for Virginia? We need to get busy before a golden opportunity slips away, leaving Virginia and the Roanoke and New River valleys dead at the switch.

\ Dan B. Fleming of Blacksburg is professor emeritus in social-studies education at Virginia Tech and co-author of "By the Good People of Virginia ... Our Commonwealth's Government."

by CNB