Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250055
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Virginia Department of Transportation is holding an informational meeting so people can review the connector's design plans, make oral or written comments and ask questions of transportation officials. A final public hearing will be held on Nov. 8.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will decide whether to approve the design plans by early next year.
"This one hits people close to where people live and it would be a road they'll be using hopefully very soon," said David Clarke, assistant resident engineer at the Transportation Department's Christiansburg office.
Alternate 3A includes a 4.5-mile, four-lane roadway that connects the Blacksburg and Christiansburg bypasses, beginning east of U.S. 460 Business in Christiansburg and ending 1.1 miles north of Blacksburg's southern corporate limits. A 0.8-mile bypass extension of U.S. 460 is included in the project, which begins by the Falling Branch industrial site and merges onto Interstate 81.
The entire project is estimated to cost $135 million, which includes utilities, property the government must purchase for the bypass and construction. A total of 149 residents, 29 businesses and one nonprofit organization will be affected by the construction, according to the Transportation Department.
The purpose of the bypass improvement is to ease the traffic on U.S. 460 between Blacksburg and Christiansburg. Construction bids will be sought by 1999, though Clarke said the Transportation Department is aiming to begin that process a year earlier if possible.
Tonight will not be the first time the public has seen plans for the bypass. Maps that revealed the road routes and interchanges of Alternate 3A were unveiled in December, when public comment also was taken.
Adjustments have been made to the plans since then, including a change to the most elaborate interchange in Blacksburg. The bypass will no longer run, via bridges, over South Main Street, for example. Additional changes to the plans can be made after the meeting as a result of public comment, Clarke said.
"Anyone who's affected by this can take a look and say, 'Hey, you've left us out of here,'" he said.
Alternate 3A meeting: The informational meeting on Alternate 3A will be held today from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Blacksburg Holiday Inn. The public hearing on the Alternate 3A plans will be held on Nov. 8 at the same time and place.
by CNB