Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 15, 1994 TAG: 9403150208
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Interstate 73, the highway proposed to run from Detroit to Charleston, S.C., has been a hot topic in recent months as local governments eyed it as a potential highway to economic booty. Think about us when you build your road, the governments asked.
The topic got even hotter when residents from Mount Tabor, the Catawba Valley and elsewhere banded together recently to denounce the idea that all development is beneficial. Don't turn our back yards into strips of asphalt, the opponents shouted.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said last week that its first preference is to route I-73 over existing Interstate 77 in Wythe County.
Failing that, it should go through Montgomery County where the smart road's supposed to go. All but out of the question - fifth on the list - is the Catawba Valley corridor
But any chance at all is enough reason to keep the fires hot under the feet of elected officials, the opposing folks figure. And now, 10, maybe 20 years before the highway may become reality, is none too soon to start fussing, they think.
On that, they're probably right.
I've witnessed several tense debates between the backers of a project - whether it be a coal boiler, a home for abused kids, or a highway - and a public that feels it has been duped.
Often, that feeling resides as much in sheer opposition to a project as it does in the perception of how the project was publicized. Citizens believe they learn about something, or get the chance to engage in debate, when the actual project implementation is all but set in stone.
The project organizers invariably respond that they have followed the law. They have advertised projects in the classified section of the newspaper, perhaps they have even bought larger ads. They have held public meetings.
With I-73, VDOT placed 4-by-91/2-inch ads in 33 newspapers across Southwest Virginia and West Virginia twice in January, advertising public information meetings at five locations, according to department spokeswoman Laura Bullock.
And these were participation "meetings," not "hearings," meaning they were not required by law, Bullock said. VDOT Is the only highway department in the states through which I-73 would run to hold such meetings, she said.
Had they not, Bullock said correctly, "We would have been criticized much more roundly."
This newspaper also has printed more than 80 stories on the topic over the past six months.
But for whatever reason, as the issue erupted a few weeks ago, many of the opponents said they were ignorant of the highway proposal.
By the time many of the vocal opponents had become involved, it was too late to respond to the Transportation Department. Instead, they took their objections to local governments that they believed had passed resolutions supporting I-73 - without proper information themselves.
Robin Boucher, one of the opponents' organizers, said, "If you don't act now, when they're asking for your input, you don't get another chance."
While it is years before specific routes for the highway may be identified - which will bring with them public hearings required by law - Bullock said, "the public has helped us identify a corridor.
"Roads are just not built willy-nilly in this state anymore."
Bullock admits, "we put together the participation process quickly and it was not perfect." Next time, in addition to the newspaper ads - and the newspaper stories - they may mail fliers to homes.
As a reporter, I have to maintain a sense of neutrality.
But as a disseminator of information, I can only applaud any effort that makes more people aware of an issue, or brings more people into a debate. It makes for a more thorough understanding in the community - and, yes, it usually makes for a better story.
So while it's not my place to stand for or against whatever routing of I-73 is chosen, I can respect the Highway Department's efforts to make the public aware of what it's working on - and can urge them to do it even better if at all possible. That goes for any project that demands public input.
And at the same time, I can sympathize with at least one complaint of the activists: that it can take extraordinary individual effort to get to the truth. And I can respect them for sticking their noses in the fray early in the decision-making process.
It's never too soon to become informed.
by CNB