Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 26, 1994 TAG: 9405260095
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed National Highway System legislation that included $5 million for the initial planning and engineering of Interstate 83, an improvement of U.S. 220 between Roanoke and Greensboro, N.C.
The measure still must be approved by the Senate, which may not act on it until next year.
The bill, which passed 212-12, did not include a Virginia route for proposed Interstate 73, which would link Detroit and Charleston, S.C.
Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board decided in March that I-73 should follow the same general path of U.S. 220 to Roanoke. U.S. 460 north of Roanoke also was picked as the path for the road.
Jim Zoia, a member of the House surface transportation subcommittee, said that route wasn't included in the national highway legislation because it doesn't coincide with the route selected by North Carolina transportation officials.
North Carolina wants I-73 to enter near Hillsville along the existing Interstate 77 corridor.
By including I-83, however, the National Highway System bill helps what many people believe is the most important segment of I-73 in Virginia.
A coalition of business leaders from North Carolina and Martinsville have campaigned for an improved road between Roanoke and Greensboro, saying it would provide economic stimulus to the localities along the way.
Rep. L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County, who - along with Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke - pushed for the I-83 money, said the House's approval of the bill was "an important victory" for Roanoke, Martinsville and Franklin and Henry counties.
Congress could approve a final corridor for I-73 when it considers the bill, Zoia said. State Secretary of Transportation Robert Martinez has said repeatedly that he thinks the U.S. 460-220 route will gain federal approval.
If that happens, the section between Roanoke and Greensboro would carry a dual designation, I-73/83.
The highway bill also included $8 million to study a Virginia route for Interstate 66, a proposed corridor that would run from Norfolk to Los Angeles. As proposed by Goodlatte, the road would enter Virginia near Covington and travel through Roanoke and Lynchburg.
Construction on that project, known as the TransAmerica Transportation Corridor, isn't expected to begin until well into the next century.
The money approved for both I-66 and I-83 would come from the federal Highway Trust Fund, which is financed by fuel taxes.
by CNB