ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608150036
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
The "smart" road will face its final governmental hurdle today as the Commonwealth Transportation Board votes on the controversial project's major design features at its monthly meeting in Richmond.
The board approved the general route of the road in February 1992. Today's vote will cement the exact location of the road and its major features, which include the sites of interchanges and the major bridge over the Ellett Valley.
The planned six-mile road would link northern Blacksburg directly with Interstate 81, some 21/2 miles north of the main existing Christiansburg exit. While its supporters have touted it as a much-needed catalyst for Virginia Tech and the region's economic development, its detractors say it will be an expensive boondoggle.
If approved, the Virginia Department of Transportation would begin buying land it needs for the road in September, including the much-discussed 140 acres of land in the Ellett Valley that falls within a Montgomery County agricultural and forestal district. Also, seven families will be displaced as a result of the project.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors voted 4-3 in June to support VDOT's attempt to condemn the land in the protected district - much to the chagrin of the road's opponents, many of whom said the road's location would be detrimental to the environment and the area's quality of life.
The delay of that final decision - the supervisors overturned a previous "no" vote in November - has pushed the project back several months. VDOT's information packet, passed out during public meetings about the road in the fall, said final approval by the Commonwealth Transportation Board was expected in late 1995 with construction bids going out in late 1996.
VDOT now is targeting April 1997 for construction bids, said Dan Brugh, resident engineer in Christiansburg. Actual construction on the first 1.7 miles of the road - which will serve as a so-called "test bed" for Virginia Tech transportation research - is expected to begin in July 1997, with a completion date of mid-1999.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board's vote today is not the only remaining hurdle for the road, however. Oral arguments will be heard Friday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke on a lawsuit filed by three environmental groups against federal highway planners. The state was dismissed from the case in April.
The national Sierra Club, the New River Valley Greens and the New River Valley Environmental Coalition are asking the court to block further planning of the smart road until a more complete environmental review of the areas affected by the project is completed. Their allegations include: VDOT did not conduct environmental impact studies after alterations were made to the road; the agency failed to do a wildlife study; and it did not examine reasonable alternatives to construction of the road.
Both sides have asked for summary judgement before the Oct. 7 trial date.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB