ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080021
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
Legislation to make resource-sharing easier among Virginia localities will be sought by state Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle, and could work to the advantage of Pulaski County, he said.
Trumbo met with the county Board of Supervisors Monday night and said there is some potential interest at the federal level in increasing interstate highway construction in this part of Virginia.
What is being looked at, he said, is the possibility of extending the proposed Interstate 73 from West Virginia through Giles County to Blacksburg and creating another interstate link from there to Interstate 81.
"If those three were in some way to be linked up, you'd find yourself in the middle of a triangle of interstates," he said. While those possibilities remain far from settled, he added, "I think you should be aware of those issues. That's one of the reasons I came here this evening."
Pulaski County already has the basics for air and rail traffic, he said. If the interstate projects materialized, the county could easily become a transportation hub.
He tied that in with his idea for resource-sharing, which could allow a county with financial assets, for example, to invest in a neighboring county which might not have much money but did have flat land for potential industrial sites. "I am looking to put in some legislation to allow it," he said.
It would still be up to local governing bodies to decide whether to participate in such resource-sharing, he said. But such investment could be a boon to Pulaski County with its natural attributes, he said.
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Trumboby CNB