
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 22, 1995                   TAG: 9504240036
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV7   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Short

STATE GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO BLACKSBURG PROJECTS

The Commonwealth Transportation Board has given the go-ahead for two projects in Blacksburg: the extension of Patrick Henry Drive and the building of an access road to a planned Wolverine Gasket & Manufacturing Co. expansion.

At its April 20 meeting in Richmond, the board approved a $1.8 million contract to extend Patrick Henry Drive 0.8 miles so it connects from Toms Creek Road to North Main Street.

The project, awarded to Branch Highways Inc. of Roanoke, should begin in May and probably will not be completed until sometime during the first half of next year, said Dan Brugh, resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation's Christiansburg office.

The board also approved awarding $126,000 in industrial access funds to Montgomery County to build a road into the Blacksburg Industrial Park extension, where Wolverine plans to build a $12 million expansion.

The expansion was announced last winter, with the state and local governments awarding Wolverine more than $400,000 in incentives to build the plant, which could employ up to 54. Brugh said construction of the curbed and guttered road should also begin in May and should be completed by summer's end.

by CNB