Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 25, 1995 TAG: 9504250097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded a $9.56 million contract to English Construction Co. Inc. of Altavista to build the first section of the extension. It will run 1.3 miles from Melrose Avenue near the Plaza of Roanoke-Salem shopping center to Shenandoah Avenue, east of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
When completed in three years, the entire project will extend Peters Creek Road 2.3 miles from Melrose Avenue to Brandon Avenue where Brandon intersects Aerial Way Drive. The construction will take the property of four businesses and at least one home.
The road will provide a direct link between the northwest and southwest portions of the city, allow better access to business and industrial areas between the VA Medical Center and Brandon Avenue, and provide a better way for emergency vehicles to cross the Roanoke River and Norfolk Southern tracks.
The project was designed with transportation, not economic development, in mind. It is, however, already having an impact on existing industrial property, particularly along Shenandoah Avenue, said Doug Chittum, an economic development specialist with the city.
Land prices have been increasing over the past six months, and so has interest in land along Shenandoah and in 8 acres the city owns near Schaffers Crossing, Chittum said.
First proposed in 1963 as part of the Roanoke Valley Transportation Plan, the project has been delayed for a variety of reasons.
Most recently, the extension faced opposition from residents who feared that traffic on the road would use Deyerle and Mud Lick roads as shortcuts between Brandon Avenue and Virginia 419. To help quell their fears, the city agreed to widen Brandon Avenue to make it more attractive to motorists headed for 419.
The Transportation Board's most recent six-year plan puts the estimated cost of the total project, including right-of-way costs, at $23.76 million. The federal government will provide 80 percent of the funding, the state 18 percent, and the city 2 percent. A bond referendum approved by city voters in November included money for the road.
The road, also known as Virginia 117, will have two 12-foot lanes in each direction with curb, gutter and sidewalk on both sides. The contract for the first segment includes the construction of three bridges, sound-barrier wall, guardrail, traffic signals and utility work.
Work on the second segment of the road, from Shenandoah Avenue to Brandon Avenue, will be advertised for bids at the end of this year, and construction probably will begin next spring, said Jeff Echols, the Virginia Department of Transportation's resident engineer.
by CNB