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

DATE: FRIDAY, July 28, 1995                   TAG: 9507280067
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-12   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Short

BE PATIENT - THE BUMPS ON 460 WILL SOON DISAPPEAR

They rudely jolt you out of the driver's seat and give your shocks a workout. Polite little road signs warn of the pitfalls ahead on the stretch of U.S. 460 near Southgate Drive - BUMP.

One bump is plenty, but motorists encounter two bumps eastbound and two bumps westbound - and each bump can not-so-gently lift your car off the ground.

Dan Brugh, resident engineer for the state Department of Transportation in Christiansburg, confirmed what most commuters already suspected - the culverts installed under the highway last summer caused the bumps.

The backfill packed around the culverts settled, taking the pavement with it, Brugh said. He's not sure why the settling occurred, but said one factor might be the department's rush to complete the project after Virginia Tech let out in May and before school started in August.

A contractor is expected to smooth out the bumps in the next couple of weeks, and the project should take a few days, he said, at an estimated cost of less than $20,000.

While the posted speed of 55 mph hasn't been lowered, Brugh said, motorists should slow down because the faster you're going, the harder the bumps will feel.

by CNB