ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 21, 1996 TAG: 9608210036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
PUBLIC MEETINGS ON improvements between Hillsville and Stuart will take place Sept. 10-11.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has scheduled two public hearings Sept. 10-11 on proposed improvements to the stretch of U.S. 58 between Hillsville in Carroll County and Stuart in Patrick County.
No formal presentation will be made but department representatives will provide brochures, maps and displays and be available to answer questions.
The hearings will provide information on the department's study of the 36 miles of U.S. 58 between Virginia 703 west of Hillsville to a point less than a mile from Stuart. Plans are to widen existing U.S. 58 to a four-lane divided highway along that stretch.
A preferred location for the widened road and an alternate route will be presented for public comment at the hearings. Generally, the proposed road would have two 12-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction separated by a 40-foot grassy median, except in the area between Stuart and Vesta in Patrick County. A concrete median would be used there to reduce the amount of earth that would need to be moved to build the road.
The first hearing Tuesday, Sept. 10, will take place at Carroll County High School on U.S. 58 East at U.S. 221 in Hillsville. The second hearing Wednesday, Sept. 11, will be held at Patrick County Administration Building on Rucker Street in Stuart. Both sessions will run from 4 to 7 p.m.
Public comments can be submitted at the meetings or by mail,
Citizens may make oral comments at the hearings or may submit written comments at the hearing or up to 10 days after the hearing to Fred Altizer, Salem District Administrator, VDOT, P.O. Box 3071, Salem, Va., 24153.
A location for the new road could be approved by VDOT later this year, the agency said. Design work will begin once a location is picked. The public will also have an opportunity to comment later on the proposed design for the road.
Maps and information about the U.S. 58 improvements are available at VDOT's residency offices in Bassett and Hillsville or at the Salem District office on Harrison Avenue in Salem. For more information, call (540)387-5320; 857-7034 or 728-2813.
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