ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997           TAG: 9702190110
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-5  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER

EAGLE ROCK BRIDGE DEAL PONDERED TOWN REPRESENTATIVE: `WE NEED THAT BRIDGE'

The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors wants to talk to the state's transportation secretary before acting on his deal to keep the Eagle Rock bridge open.

The supervisors on Tuesday instructed County Administrator Gerald Burgess and County Attorney Buck Heartwell to contact Secretary Robert Martinez to discuss alternatives to his proposal to save the 63-year-old bridge over the James River.

In a deal Martinez worked out recently with State Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo and Del. Lacey Putney, Botetourt County would put up $1.25 million over four years as its share of building a new Eagle Rock bridge and commit to completing the bridge if state runs out of revenue-sharing funds for the project.

The secretary also wants Botetourt to add repairs to a two-lane bridge on Virginia 727 in Iron Gate to its six-year secondary road plan as part of the deal. That proposal raised the ire of the supervisors and Burgess.

The Iron Gate bridge is in Botetourt County and crosses the Jackson River, but 90 percent of the people who use it are from Alleghany County, Burgess said.

"The [Iron Gate] project is totally unrelated. ... There are no cost estimates. And here the secretary of transportation is trying to tell a local board of supervisors what to put in its six-year plan," he said. Botetourt County approved its annual six-year secondary road plan in January.

About 40 residents attended Tuesday's meeting, and a couple of speakers encouraged supervisors to investigate Martinez's proposal. If the bridge is removed, travel to Eagle Rock would be four miles farther from U.S. 220 and the town would probably die, residents say.

Supervisor Bonnie Mayo, who represents Eagle Rock, said she's aware of the Iron Gate bridge's needs, but she also thinks the two projects should be separated.

Mayo hopes Martinez will come to Botetourt County to answer questions and talk about his proposal with the supervisors.

She said she hopes a better alternative will be found.

"There's got to be some means we haven't come up with to convince not only the secretary but also the transportation board that we need that bridge," Mayo said.

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