Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509220077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The I-73 language in the House bill is similar to the Senate's version, approved in August.
Both bills call for an I-73 route that would follow U.S. 460 from Bluefield, W.Va., to Blacksburg. From there it would follow the "smart road" and Interstates 81 and 581 to Roanoke, then pick up the path of U.S. 220 into North Carolina.
"This is an important step forward in making this important transportation link a reality for the Roanoke Valley," Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, said.
"History shows that interstate highways attract good jobs and new industries," said Rep. L.F. Payne Jr., D-Nelson County. He noted that the Virginia Department of Transportation has estimated the road could create 5,000 new jobs.
I-73 is a proposed new interstate highway that would run from Michigan to Charleston, S.C. The road was conceived by a group of Bluefield businessmen several years ago.
The House and Senate now must work out their differences in the versions of the National Highway System legislation before it can go to the president for his signature.
The bill establishes a system of roughly 160,000 miles of high priority interstate and arterial roadways. It involves only 4 percent of the nation's roads, but they are projected to carry 40 percent of all vehicle traffic and 75 percent of truck traffic.
The legislation provides $6.5 billion annually in federal highway funding for roads in the system. Virginia will receive $150 million annually for the 3,447 miles of rural and urban roads it will have in the system. Virginia Secretary of Transportation Robert Martinez said some of that money could be spent on I-73 planning as early as next year, but it will be years before the road is built.
Job Link, a coalition of business people from Franklin and Henry counties in Virginia and Rockingham, N.C., also was "delighted" with the House action. Job Link was formed to lobby for an interstate-quality highway between Roanoke and North Carolina's Piedmont Triad.
"We hope the legislation will become law soon," said George W. Lester III, Job Link's chairman and a Martinsville businessman. His group, he said, hopes the Virginia and North Carolina congressional delegations will seek funding for the highway and that the two states' transportation departments will work together on it.
by CNB