Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 9, 1994 TAG: 9404090083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
At a news conference, the 9th District congressman said he has recommended a route to the House surface transportation subcommittee that would bring I-73 into Virginia from North Carolina on Interstate 77; pick up Virginia 100 at Hillsville; follow that road through Carroll, Pulaski and Giles counties to Pearisburg; then turn onto U.S. 460 to the West Virginia line.
Boucher also said the road should be built to less than interstate standards.
The recommendation of the Abingdon Democrat puts him at odds with the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which voted unanimously last month to support a route roughly following U.S. 460 from Bluefield to Roanoke and U.S. 220 from Roanoke to the North Carolina line, incorporating the proposed Blacksburg-to-Interstate 81 "smart road" along the way.
The 460/220 route was found by state planners to offer the greatest potential for economic development of seven routes studied.
Boucher said he was supporting a different route because it would open up land to economic development that is not served by a four-lane highway, and it would cost less to build than the route proposed by the state.
He said he also was reacting to the strong opposition to a 460/220 route from residents and local governments in Giles and Montgomery counties and the Bent Mountain community in Roanoke County.
His position on the route pits Boucher against other members of the Virginia congressional delegation. Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, and L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County, and Sens. Charles Robb, D-Va., and John Warner, R-Va., all support the 460/220 route.
Boucher said he has "excellent rapport" with Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the subcommittee, and has worked with Rahall on several projects. Boucher said he was not guaranteeing that his recommendation would be adopted by the subcommittee, but that it would be thoroughly considered.
Tim Phillips, a spokesman for Goodlatte, said it was too early to tell what the effect of Boucher's opposition to the state's preferred route might be. "But clearly, the momentum is on the side of our [460/220] route," he said.
The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce responded quickly to oppose Boucher's proposal, calling it unrealistic. The Senate has sent clear signals to the House not to send it legislation containing new projects such as Boucher has proposed, said Bud Oakey, chamber vice president.
Boucher include the I-73 recommendation in a package of Southwest Virginia roads that he proposed be included in National Highway System legislation being considered by Congress.
U.S. 220 south of Roanoke, U.S. 221 between Roanoke and Hillsville, and the Blacksburg smart road were included in Boucher's recommendations to the House subcommittee. An extension of a new West Virginia road, the Coalfields Expressway, from Bluefield into the Virginia counties of Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise also was included.
Much of the support for a 460/220 route for I-73 has focused on the need to improve 220 south of Roanoke. That route, however, already was included in the Federal Highway Administration's recommendations for the National Highway System, released last year.
The 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act called for the establishment of a national system of priority roads. Roads included in the system will be eligible for 80 percent federal funding for improvement projects.
Besides proposing a different route, Boucher is also recommending that the road be built to Appalachian Regional Commission standards for four-lane highways, which permit sharper curves and more access from side roads, require less right of way and cost less to build than interstate highways.
Boucher said that neither West Virginia nor North Carolina plans to build the four-lane road to interstate standards, and suggested it wouldn't make sense for Virginia to build a road to the higher standard if the other states weren't.
In fact, the name "I-73" is actually a misnomer, said Jim Zoia, staff aide to Rahall on the House subcommittee. West Virginia has planned all along to build the road to a lower standard, he said. The road would follow U.S. 52 from Bluefield to Huntington in West Virginia.
Zoia said he has been unable to find anyone who can explain how the road got into the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act under the name "I-73." The road was one of about two dozen high-priority new highways nationwide that were included in the legislation.
"We really don't care what it's called in West Virginia," he said, "as long as we get a four-lane through there."
The subcommittee will be putting its final touches on the National Highway System bill next month, and a full House vote is expected by early summer. The Senate has not begun considering a bill, but Congress has until Sept. 30, 1995, to complete work on the legislation, which is called for by the 1991 federal highway bill.
by CNB