Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508280015
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The map bore two broad lines - one along 221's existing roadbed, the other swooping south of Back Creek.
VDOT asked for input on its proposed 2.3-mile four-lane highway. It got more than 800 letters, and nearly half supported keeping the road in its existing bed.
Yet after more than a year of work, some residents believe they haven't accomplished anything.
"We're right back where we started," said Paula Bittinger, who spent six months and countless hours working on VDOT's citizens advisory committee for the project.
Her reaction stems from VDOT District Administrator Fred Altizer Jr.'s Aug. 9 letter to County Administrator Elmer Hodge. In his much-anticipated recommendation, Altizer proposes that VDOT not recommend either route at this time - rather, that it study both further.
"We want to look at these two lines in detail, with very specific information," Altizer said. "I'm not willing to make a final recommendation until I see more information on both of those lines."
One thing has been decided: Any improvements on 221 from the Poage farm to the foot of Bent Mountain will stay in the existing roadbed.
Altizer likens VDOT's position to that of an architect who has a preliminary sketch but not detailed-enough plans from which to build.
``I could not tell someone now, `If you were on that property, this is how you will be affected,''' he said.
So they'll study a line on each side of the creek. For those up on ``221-speak,'' that's option B or C.
But some residents, who were involved in public hearing after public hearing, see Altizer's recommendation as a cop-out.
"This is all old stuff. They've given a count of the houses that will be affected. They've sent the right-of-way people out there," said Brent Riley, a founding member of the Back Creek activist group PAC 221. "I don't think it has advanced us at all. They're saying the same thing. And I'm frustrated by it."
Since VDOT first presented its plans for 221, also known as Bent Mountain Road, in June 1994, it has not veiled its preference for option C - a road that runs south of the creek and cuts across it to rejoin the existing roadway near the Poage farm.
It's a route that the Blue Ridge Parkway superintendent and members of PAC 221 say will spoil the rural flavor of Back Creek.
"Route C has some advantages, more so than B does. There's less impact on homes and maintaining traffic," said Jeff Echols, VDOT resident engineer. It's also an easier route to engineer.
But the department's continued devotion to that route, even after 16.6 percent of respondents at a May 24 and 25 public hearing chose it, compared with about 48 percent for option B, frustrates Riley and other members of PAC 221.
"If we did all this and they still choose corridor C, then this was a joke," said Scott Barrier of PAC 221.
"I feel they're just dragging this thing out. Maybe because they want to sway more citizens so they can do corridor C," Bittinger said.
By all accounts, Altizer's recommendation could add months, if not years, to the already timely process.
VDOT is waiting for a recommendation from the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, which will make its decision after a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 12.
Supervisor Lee Eddy, who represents part of Back Creek, said he does not have a preference for either route.
"I think the public hearing will be helpful to us" in deciding, Eddy said. "We had all thought [VDOT] would come up with one recommendation. And they came up with two."
Altizer said the Board of Supervisors' decision could influence the recommendation he makes to the Commonwealth Transportation Board in October. That board gets the final say.
If the Transportation Board approves Altizer's proposal, engineers will begin drafting plans and narrowing the 400-foot-wide corridor to a 50- to 100-foot alignment. Then, the plans bounce back for another round of public hearings before one route is chosen.
Echols estimates the whole process could take more than a year to wrap up. The road is not slated to be built until after 2000.
by CNB