Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 3, 1995 TAG: 9506050030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In reality, members of a committee working with the Virginia Department of Transportation on the proposed six-mile link between Blacksburg and Interstate 81, spent an hour on a resolution to make it just right.
The gist of the resolution, passed unanimously except for one abstention, is: heavy trucks shouldn't be allowed on the smart road because they're noisy, because they might be carrying hazardous materials that could easily contaminate the karst terrain were there an accident, because there are and will be other roads for them to use, and because, at least heading toward Blacksburg, they would be slowed by a steep grade and cars would back up behind them.
"Imagine the patience people would have if they were compelled to drive in the truck lane [on I-81] up Christiansburg mountain," said Chris VanCantfort, in noting what he thought was the most salient point of the resolution.
The first two miles of the smart road, which Virginia Tech hopes to use as an experimental test bed for research on futuristic cars, safety equipment and other aspects of highway travel, is expected to be built starting in 1997. Eventually, backers hope to complete a two-lane version that will connect to the interstate, and later plan to expand it to four lanes.
The resolution, which is nonbinding but will be reviewed by highway planners in the Transportation Department's Richmond headquarters, said the truck restrictions should apply as long as the road is two lanes, and should continue to apply when it becomes four lanes at least until truckers can demonstrate that the ban is costing them "undue hardships or safety hazards" in excess of an extra 10 minutes in travel time between Blacksburg and Roanoke.
by CNB