ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 2, 1996 TAG: 9607020047
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
A project to rehabilitate and reopen the Draper Mountain Wayside on U.S. 11 above Pulaski is in line for $125,000 in state funding, but not for a while.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has approved a grant covering both phases of the planned rehabilitation. An agreement tailored to this project must be drawn up before any dirt is moved, however, and no date has been set for doing that.
Assistant Pulaski County Administrator Peter Huber said Monday that he understood it might be November before the grant could be used.
The project was to be divided into two parts, but now funding will be available to do it all at once. It could be finished within nine months, Huber said. That's only a guess for now, he added.
The county and the town of Pulaski agreed to put in $12,000 each in matching funds when they applied for the grant, although some of that can be in services rather than cash.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board made its selections last month for funding projects under Virginia's Transportation Enhancement Program, which draws its funding from federal sources.
"The board had a very difficult job making its selections this year, as there were many excellent applications and competition was keen," R.O. Cassada, state programming and scheduling engineer, said in a letter to Huber announcing the Draper Wayside approval. "With only $6 million available in federal funds, we received 149 applications requesting $49 million."
Cassada said a meeting would be scheduled in the near future to discuss carrying out the Draper Mountain project. "Since these are federal funds, a formal federal authorization must be received before you start, and all federal guidelines must be followed," he said.
Pulaski County closed the overlook in 1994 because of litter and debris problems. Virginia Tech's Community Design and Assistance Center completed a master plan for renovating it one year ago. Supervisors Jerry White and Charles Cook have said there is public pressure to reopen it and it would be good for tourism. For years, it had been popular for picnics and other outings.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB