Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 17, 1993 TAG: 9310170135
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It was in 1986, in his state-of-the-city address, that former Roanoke Mayor Noel Taylor first endorsed a road linking the Roanoke Valley to Virginia Tech.
In April of this year - after seven years of debate - the federal government gave final approval to a proposed 5.9-mile "smart highway" between Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech, and Interstate 81.
The state Department of Transportation and Virginia Tech were given the go- ahead to begin technical design of the road when the Federal Highway Administration signed off on the project's environmental impact statement.
Sound like a done deal? It's not - far from it, in fact. The state lacks probably the most crucial resource: funding.
"It's all ready but the signing of the check," Secretary of Transportation John Milliken said.
It is expected to cost roughly $82 million to build a four-lane road from the south end of Blacksburg to I-81, about 2 1/2 miles from Exit 118.
But money for the project won't come from the state's general road construction fund. Instead, it will come from non-traditional sources such as federal grants or a state bond issue.
The smart road is so-named because it would be a testing ground for new technologies to improve driving safety. They range from pavement sensors that monitor road conditions and flash warnings to motorists to on-board computers that guide cars.
In 1992, partial funding for the link was included in a $28 million bond package that eventually was shot down by Gov. Douglas Wilder.
A new governor will be elected soon, however, and supporters of the smart road are ready to push for a new bond package.
"We hope to be able to interest the legislature into going ahead with it," said Gordon Willis, chairman of University Connection, an advocacy group for the direct link.
Willis said University Connection also is advocating a plan to build the road's first two lanes, for $51 million, with the last two lanes being built as research money becomes available.
The project is not likely to receive much support from either candidate for governor.
One issue Democrat Mary Sue Terry and Republican George Allen agree on is that, while the road may be a good idea, the state isn't likely to provide funding any time soon.
"I can't in good conscience say it's a high priority," Allen said. "Priorities are law enforcement and education. We need to control spending. How do they propose to pay for the bonds?"
Terry said Virginia should see what federal funds are available before committing any money.
"It's a concept that has potential," she said. "But I believe it's premature to talk about any state funding right now."
The federal government has approved $5.9 million for planning for the road; much of that money will be funneled through Virginia Tech. The state contributed $100,000 in matching funds needed for the federal grant.
Dan Brugh, resident engineer in Christiansburg for the Transportation Department, said some of that money will be used this year when surveying begins for the road's proposed route.
"We've done nothing so far, but plan to start pretty soon," he said.
Planning for the road is expected to take at least two years. Researchers at the university will be heavily involved in the process.
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.
Tech's Center for Transportation Research was recently awarded a federal grant for research into intelligent vehicle systems. The grant, coupled with matching funds, will total more than $7 million over the next five years.
Still, Terry said, "seed money" for planning and research is completely different from construction funds.
Allen and Terry agree that the New River Valley's top road priority is what is known as Alternate 3-A, a proposed bypass between Blacksburg and Christiansburg.
It is hoped that road, estimated to cost $53 million, will relieve some of the congestion on the heavily developed retail strip along U.S. 460 Business between Blacksburg and Christiansburg.
It was projected in 1985 that 72,000 cars a day would travel that road by the year 2015.
Brugh said 50,000 cars already clog the road each day; he expects that figure to reach 70,000 before the turn of the century. "It's going up pretty quickly," he said. "It's just incredible."
Milliken is quick to point out that the smart road and 3-A won't compete for the same money, since the Blacksburg to I-81 link will be funded through special sources.
"The state supports both projects," he said. "We believe in the smart highway."
Not everyone in the New River Valley is as enthusiastic about the project. It has drawn considerable 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 she isn't worried much about a bond issue, because it would need voter approval.
"I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to spend their tax dollars on this," she said. "I don't think it's ever going to be built."
Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, has opposed the project since its onset. He sees it as a waste of money.
But Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, has been a major booster of the project and helped write the 1992 bond package.
Willis said Cranwell, who's being challenged for re-election by Republican Bud Brumitt, has said he would support another bond referendum but wasn't committing to next year.
There's also been some talk among smart-road advocates about tying it in with the proposed Interstate 73 project that would link Detroit to Charleston, S.C.
Brugh said he sees a possibility of combining the two projects if the interstate's route runs from Bluefield, W.Va., down the U.S. 460 corridor to U.S. 220 near Roanoke.
"If you're going to use that route, then the smart highway is the fastest way to move traffic," he said.
Milliken, who spoke at the Jefferson Club last week, said the state hasn't even made preliminary decisions about I-73's route in Virginia.
He also pointed out that the proposed interstate won't be built anytime soon.
While the interstate was an idea initiated by Congress, "it wasn't given any funds," Milliken said. "And I don't see any in the pipeline in the foreseeable future."
The same can be said for the smart road, if comments from the two gubernatorial candidates are any indication.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB