Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502210011
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County will sponsor the meeting, to be held in the Blacksburg Municipal Building from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
The 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act calls for Congress to designate a National Highway System by Oct. 1. Having I-73 designated as part of that system would open up federal funding that would cover 80 percent of the road's cost, with the remaining 20 percent to be paid for by the state.
Nelson Walker, executive director of the I-73 Corridor Association, will be the keynote speaker at the meeting. Afterward, the audience will be permitted to ask questions of a panel that will include:
Michael Chandler, Blacksburg Town Council member. Council passed a resolution in March asking that such an interstate not run through the town's confines.
Deborah Dull, a former lawyer with the Federal Highway Administration who now lives in Eggleston. She will represent the Informed Citizens Action Network, which opposes I-73 running through Montgomery County.
Larry Linkous, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, which has endorsed an I-73 route that would run through Ellett Valley and utilize the proposed "smart" road path.
Robert Martinez, secretary of transportation for Virginia, which has submitted a high-on-economic development proposal that the highway, to run from Detroit to Charleston, S.C., run through Montgomery County and Roanoke on its way to Greensboro, N.C.
Karen Coston, a member of the league, will moderate the discussion.
by CNB