Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 10, 1994 TAG: 9406170066
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: |New River Valley bureau|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I think if there is anything we can begin to do out there, we ought to do it,'' Mayor Gary Hancock told Town Council's Public Operations Committee.
Although most of the council members were at the session, they could not vote on the matter because the gathering was not an official gathering of the governing body. The next regular council meeting is at 7 p.m. June 21.
But the committee recommendation to council will be to begin a schedule of work designed to get the small section of road open to traffic again. The delay has been because of negotiations between the town and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on how much FEMA will pay on the work.
FEMA has agreed to pay about $9,985 to clean debris from February's ice storm from the road itself. Town officials had argued that this will not be sufficient to reopen the road, because a cliff towering above that 200-foot section is unstable. But FEMA would not agree to pay toward solving that problem or, alternately, relocating that section of Dora Highway.
Assistant Town Manager Rob Lyons said Town Engineer John Hawley is working on a plan that would not stabilize the entire bank but cover the part leading to Peak Creek, at a cost of perhaps $50,000 to $60,000.
It would involve hiring a contractor with the necessary equipment to remove sections of the cliff that seem to be in danger of falling. The money could come out of town paving projects for the 1994-95 fiscal year, which typically amounts to about $200,000.
But if other problems are uncovered during the work, the cost could escalate and threaten to wipe out all road-paving money for next year. Lyons said the first step would be stabilization work that would allow heavy equipment to operate in the area.
The steepness of the terrain also means strict and perhaps expensive safety measures will have to be taken in the work. ``That's a real involved project,'' Lyons said.
``I know they're frustrated out there,'' Hancock said of the Dora Highway residents who have had to take a longer route in and out of the area since the road section was closed Feb. 13. ``This thing is a serious safety problem. ... But I think we do have to get the road opened as soon as possible.''
Town Manager Tom Combiths said he would advise the council members if it appeared that the project was going to be drawn out. The town has contacted the office of Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, to see if help can be obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or Federal Highway Administration.
by CNB