ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 TAG: 9701220020
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: COMPILED BY PAUL DELLINGER AND ROBERT FREIS
*Pulaski officials are considering rerouting Dora Highway where it intersects with East Main Street as part of the Main Street widening project. The Main Street project is planned for some three years ahead. The town may ask the Virginia Department of Transportation to look at the possibility of moving the intersection to the east side of the Dora Highway pump station, which would eliminate a section of the road along a cliff area where landslides have occurred. Town Engineer John Hawley said a new bridge would be needed and would probably cost $500,000 to $600,000. This rerouting, however, would eliminate the expense and inconvenience of closing a section of the road due to landslides.
The town's Public Operations Committee, meeting Monday, also looked at a suggestion from Councilman Charles Stewart to put mailboxes accessible to drivers of cars on a median along Washington Avenue. Unfortunately, that would leave insufficient lane and parking space on the street and could cause problems for large trucks turning into the post office. Town staff members are looking at alternatives.
Police Chief Herb Cooley told the committee that he has assigned Cpl. C.V. Paschal full time to clearing the remaining inoperable vehicles left on town streets. The Police Department has removed literally hundreds of such vehicles in the past year. Cooley said the process has reached the point where someone is needed to research titles and otherwise track down owners of such vehicles.
*The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has decided to seek a grant to replace or repair the U.S. 460 bridge near the Elliston-Lafayette Elementary School for pedestrian use. The existing bridge on the highway's eastbound lanes will be abandoned this spring when a project to relocate part of U.S. 460 is completed. Looking for sources to defray repair costs, the board voted last week to apply for federal grant from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act - the same source that funded much of the Huckleberry Trail. The supervisors have scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at the county courthouse on the grant application. A new or repaired bridge for pedestrian use has been estimated to cost more than $100,000.
Upcoming:
*The Montgomery County Human Services Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday in the new county Health and Human Services Building on South Pepper Street in Christiansburg. The meeting will feature a panel discussion about managed health care's influence on local mental health services. Amy Forsyth-Stephens, executive director of the Mental Health Association of the New River Valley, will moderate the panel. The meeting is open to the public.
*The New River Community Services Board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Landmark Building, 644 First St., Radford.
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