ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604260042
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
Del. Tommy Baker, R-Dublin, says it will be more important than ever to complete the four-laning of Virginia 100 between Dublin and Pearisburg when Interstate 73 gets built in the near future.
That, he said, is because most traffic from West Virginia into Virginia will avoid the interstate highway and take Virginia 100 instead as the most direct route to where travelers want to go.
As now routed, Interstate 73 will enter Virginia from Bluefield, W.Va., and follow U.S. 460 to Blacksburg. It will pick up the planned "smart" road to Interstates 81 and 581 to Roanoke, then follow U.S. 220 past Martinsville into North Carolina.
But Baker said at a Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday that one look at a highway map will convince travelers that Interstate 73 will take them on a loop out of their way, so it will boost traffic on Virginia 100.
"You wait and see. We're going to benefit from the way it [Interstate 73] goes, not directly but indirectly," he said. But that depends on completing the widening of Virginia 100 linking Pulaski and Giles counties.
"The project has been on the books forever," he said. "A lot of it's been done. There's [several] more miles still to be completed."
The 8.85-mile unfinished stretch extends between Staffordsville in Giles County and the top of Cloyds Mountain in Pulaski County, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. Construction funding is budgeted in VDOT's six-year plan for the winding three-mile Pulaski section in 1997-98, primarily for safety reasons. But widening the 5.85-mile Giles section has been delayed, said David Clarke, assistant resident engineer in the Christiansburg office.
Baker joined state Sens. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, and Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, at the chamber's annual legislative luncheon. The three reported on various legislation affecting the New River Valley that came before the 1996 legislature.
To his surprise, Marye said, he got the most mail during the 1996 General Assembly objecting to a bill that would have made it illegal to breed wolves and dogs. It was carried over to the next session.
"I guess we'll hear from 'em again next year," he said. "The worst thing that can happen to you is to get involved with pet bills."
Baker said the needs of Memorial Bridge between Radford and Pulaski County must be addressed soon. It carries 26,000 to 28,000 vehicles a day, he said, and is a vital link between Fairlawn and Radford.
"And if you don't believe it, just shut it down for about four weeks," he said. That was what happened two years ago, when the bridge was closed from April 22, 1994, to May 18, 1994, to repair structural deterioration.
Baker said he would prefer spending the estimated $11.6 million to replace the bridge entirely instead of $7.5 million for a more temporary fix.
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