ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607050068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Environmental studies that will determine the precise location of Interstate 73 between Roanoke and North Carolina could be completed within three years, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Robert Martinez said Wednesday.
Martinez was in Roanoke for the ceremonial passing of a check, representing the state's commitment of $6 million to the initial planning of the proposed highway. The spending - at the rate of $1 million a year - was included in the Commonwealth Transportation Board's six-year plan, which was approved last month.
The event at the Patrick Henry Hotel, which featured Sen. John Warner, R-Va.; Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke; Martinez; local and state politicians; government officials; and business leaders, was organized by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Bud Oakey, the chamber's vice president and lobbyist, said he organized the gathering to recognize those involved in securing a route for I-73 through the Roanoke Valley and to emphasize the need for the road's supporters to remain committed until it's finally built.
I-73 would be added to the nation's interstate highway system between Grayling, Mich., and Charleston, S.C. It was included in this year's Federal Highway System legislation.
Its general route through Virginia, Martinez said, would closely follow existing U.S. 460 from Bluefield to Blacksburg, where it would incorporate the ``smart'' road and I-81 to Roanoke, and then - because of needed improvements in the road's alignment for safety reasons - would generally follow the route of U.S. 220 from Roanoke to the North Carolina line.
The highway's route through the state is an imprecise line on a map suggesting a five-mile-wide corridor. The $6 million should be enough to let state highway engineers and commissioners pick a precise alignment within that corridor by 1999, Martinez said.
Getting I-73 routed through the state was a long, hard struggle, including five public meetings attended by 1,200 residents, Martinez said. The Roanoke route surpassed other suggested routes through the state on economic studies and should be a benefit to existing industry as well as a draw to new industry, he said.
Warner, like Martinez, warned the road's supporters that they must stay vocal and united if they want to see it built
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