THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 4, 1994 TAG: 9407040030
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Planners studying the economic feasibility of building a cross-country interstate that would pass through southwest Virginia have concluded that the project's cost would be greater than its worth.
A steering committee made up of representatives of the various states through which the proposed Interstate 66 would pass is to unveil the results of its study Thursday at a public meeting in St. Louis.
According to a draft of the committee's final report, none of the various options studied for the proposed interstate would pay off for the nation as a whole.
``These findings, however, do not mean that individual segments of the corridor would not be desirable from a state or regional perspective,'' the committee said in the draft report, a copy of which was obtained by the Roanoke Times & World-News.
The draft report also said it might be worthwhile to take another look at the overall proposal as some segments are built and transportation technologies advance.
The language of the final report may change somewhat, but the conclusions won't, said Tom Weeks, chief of the planning programs branch of the Federal Highway Administration.
Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th, a supporter of I-66 in Virginia, said he doesn't think the study will have much effect on the eventual decision to build the road.
Goodlatte said the technology envisioned for some of the transportation options being considered isn't available yet, while the study is based on current economic circumstances.
Goodlatte said he believes the entire road eventually will be determined to be feasible.
``The need to connect different communities is going to continue to exist,'' he said.
The steering committee's report will be forwarded to the highway administration and then to the congressional appropriations committees. The study was requested by the House Appropriations Committee.
Congress didn't ask the highway administration for recommendations on I-66 along with the report, and it has not been determined yet whether the agency will make any recommendations, Weeks said.
Weeks said it was important to keep in mind that the study's conclusions are based on I-66 as a transcontinental road and that the study didn't look at the feasibility of building individual segments.
The committee and its consultants looked 50 years into the future at a potential corridor 3,000 miles long between Virginia and southern California and 250 to 350 miles wide, lying generally between Interstates 70 and 40. The corridor contains some major cities but, overall, it averages 40 percent fewer people per square mile than the country as a whole. by CNB