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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 22, 1995                   TAG: 9511220093
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE `SMART' ROAD: WHAT IS IT?

For years, there had been talk about a new scenic link between the Roanoke and New River valleys. As technology progressed, plans for the road continued to develop. In the end, the communities decided to build something they called a "smart" road. The road today has three purposes: to help relieve congestion along U.S. 460 between Christiansburg and Blacksburg; to create a more direct link between Roanoke and Virginia Tech; and to serve as a proving ground for high-tech highway-safety innovations.

August 1986: Roanoke Mayor Noel Taylor proclaims that his city is Virginia Tech's community, even though 37 miles separate the two. The Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce creates a task force to study the economic impact of a road linking Roanoke and Blacksburg.

April 1989: The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors votes to support a direct link between Blacksburg and Roanoke. Blacksburg and Christiansburg town councils pass similar resolutions.

March 1989: A committee of Tech, Roanoke and New River Valley leaders forms to push for the road.

1990: The "Blacksburg-Roanoke Road" is included in the state's six-year transportation plan. The road is described as an "electronically monitored highway of the future." Cost is estimated at $155 million.

November 1991: Congress includes $5.9 million for the road in its transportation bill.

February 1992: The Commonwealth Transportation Board unanimously approves the so-called Alternative 6 route for the smart road, the one still under consideration today.

February 1992: Blacksburg Town Council approves a resolution supporting the smart road. Other localities follow suit.

May 1993: The final environmental impact statement on the smart road is approved by the Federal Highway Administration.

October 1993: Tech's Center for Transportation Research receives $3 million from the Federal Highway Administration to help fund smart road research.

January/February 1994: Gov. George Allen proposes a deal with General Motors: The state will spend $10 million to build the first two miles of the smart road if Tech can be part of a General Motors consortium angling for a $150 million federal grant.

October 1994: The General Motors-led consortium, of which Virginia Tech is an associate partner, wins a federal $150 million grant to develop smart technology.

October 1995: The Virginia Department of Transportation holds a public hearing on the proposed final design of the smart highway.

November 1995: An environmental group files a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Roanoke challenging environmental planning for the highway. The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors holds a public hearing that draws more than 140 people on the state's proposed condemnation of 140 acres in a county agricultural-preservation zone. That hearing was followed by Monday's 4-3 vote against the road.

by CNB