Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 23, 1994 TAG: 9412230129
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Like the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission and the Christiansburg Town Council before them, the Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution this week in support of building the road that would connect the bypasses - and ease traffic woes - around Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
The chamber's resolution also supports building the "smart" road, a six-mile highway between Blacksburg and Interstate 81 that backers say will bring millions of dollars in research money into the New River Valley. The chamber deems the smart road a lesser priority than the connector.
The resolution asks that the Virginia Department of Transportation "move ahead at a faster rate" in building the connector than was publicized at information meetings held in the first week of December. It recommends that the smart road project continue on schedule.
The Transportation Department's schedule is to begin construction of the bypass connector around 2000, although that could be moved up, officials have said. Work on a two-mile section of the smart road, to be used as a test bed for experiments on futuristic cars, sensors and and traffic safety equipment, is set to begin in 1997.
A.J. Smith, the chamber's marketing director, said the chamber supports both projects, but "the most immediate need is breaking up the traffic" that runs between Christiansburg and Blacksburg along U.S. 460.
"The Board feels it is in the best interest of its members to see this By-pass constructed with utmost haste in order for this community to be relieved of the existing congestion and trade restriction," the resolution states.
The Economic Development Commission passed a similar resolution, asking that the bypass connector project be accelerated "as this is a top priority for Montgomery County." The commission's resolution also called for assurances that the road projects provide easy access to the county's planned industrial park at Falling Branch, and Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center.
The Board of Supervisors passed its resolution, with much of the same wording as the commission's, Dec. 12 in support of both projects.
by CNB