Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 10, 1994 TAG: 9412120023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Within Montgomery County, three new interchanges would be built and three existing ones would be dramatically altered once the two road projects are completed.
Three of those interchanges (see map on this page) are:
One near Montgomery County's planned Falling Branch Industrial Park;
One at each end of Christiansburg's U.S. 460 bypass where it connects with U.S. 460.
Not pictured are interchanges planned for the smart road's intersection with Interstate 81, or the bypass connector's interchange behind the Marketplace shopping center. One at Blacksburg, where the two road projects are planned to eventually tie together, was pictured in Thursday's paper.
Some details about the projects:
Bypass Connector [3A]: Estimated cost - $50 million plus; construction to start 1999; completion by 2001.
First phase of smart road (two miles): Estimated cost $10 million; construction to start 1997; completion by 1998.
The Transportation Department asks that written comments on the two projects be submitted by Friday to:
Salem District Administrator Fred Altizer Jr.
Virginia Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 3071
Salem, Va. 24153
Dan Brugh, resident engineer with the department's Christiansburg office, said he hopes to hold another information meeting in the spring, although no date has been set.
The legally required public hearings for the smart road and the bypass connector are tentatively scheduled for mid-1995, and early 1996, respectively, although Brugh has said that the bypass hearing could be moved up if the preliminary plans do not need major revision.
The bypass connector project includes 4.5 miles of four-lane roadway connecting the Blacksburg and Christiansburg bypasses, and a 0.8-mile extension between the existing Christiansburg bypass and Interstate 81 at the Falling Branch industrial site.
The smart road is envisioned as a six-mile road connecting Blacksburg to Interstate 81 just east of Christiansburg. The state has pledged to build two miles of it (near Blacksburg) as an experimental test bed. Brugh said, however, that 1.7 miles may be sufficient for the testing purposes, and the $10 million earmarked for the project isn't enough to construct a bridge over the Ellett Valley that would fulfill the full two-mile pledge.
Each project is expected to cost more than $50 million, with a four-lane version of the smart road running at more than $80 million. Brugh said these cost estimates are extremely rough.
Before either project can go to public hearings, the department must study environmental, geological, archaeological and other concerns. A consultant working on the bypass project said only about 10 percent of the work that needs to be done before construction has been completed.
People submitted 17 written comments at the meetings in favor of the smart road, and 14 opposed to it, said department spokeswoman Laura Bullock. All 15 comments submitted on the bypass connector favored the project, Brugh said.
Almost 350 people turned out at Wednesday's meeting, which was augmented by separate meetings for local government officials and Virginia Tech administrators.
by CNB