THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 10, 1994 TAG: 9411100636
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
State Transportation Commissioner David R. Gehr promised Wednesday that the Pinners Point interchange, one of the region's most important unfunded road projects, will somehow get the necessary construction money.
The interchange, which will connect the Western Freeway with the Midtown Tunnel, has been a paper road for years because of a lack of funding. Current estimates place the cost of the interchange at $113 million.
The Western Freeway begins at Interstate 664 in Western Branch but ends several blocks short of the tunnel. Since the road opened in 1992, it has been dumping two lanes of high-speed traffic into the heart of historic Port Norfolk.
The connector would allow highway traffic to bypass the neighborhood.
``I don't even consider the option that we won't'' get the funding, Gehr said during Wednesday's public work session with Port Norfolk residents and city officials. ``We will.''
Despite this pledge from one of the state's top transportation officials, questions remain about how the road will be funded. Some politically difficult sources are being considered, including making the Western Freeway a toll road or creating a regional fuel tax.
Wednesday's meeting, organized by Del. William ``Billy'' Moore, brought all sides together to discuss the need for the project and how to raise the $53 million required for construction. The state currently has $60 million that will be used to buy the land for the road.
The connector and Western Freeway were first identified as priorities in 1968.
Residents of Port Norfolk, a community seven blocks long and five blocks wide, have grown weary of the increased car and truck traffic.
Robert P. Creecy, Portsmouth's director of management and legislative affairs, said the connector is vital to the survival of the neighborhood.
Some residents said their homes had been damaged by rush-hour traffic. Others said they have safety concerns.
``If I didn't have so many roots in Port Norfolk, I'd be gone,'' said resident Drew Duncan.
Carolyn Wyatt, one of a handful of Port Norfolk residents who attended the meeting, spoke of her worries about the neighborhood and her children.
``I literally pray every morning that my daughter is going to get across the street safely,'' Wyatt said. ``It's been 26 years. I sure hope we don't have to wait another 26 years, when my daughter is 40, for her daughter to be safe.''
Gehr said acquiring a right-of-way for the road could begin next fall. Construction could then begin in 1997 and, if all goes according to plan, the interchange would be finished by 1999, he said.
A potential strategy for paying for the project includes $5 million contributions in urban allocation funds from the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. Also included in the plan is the possible creation of a regional motor fuels tax and the use of money from an existing toll fund.
However, if the toll money is used, it would have to be repaid. Portsmouth officials would have to decide whether to use new toll money or a bond issue.
Tolls are a possibility on the Western Freeway anyway. State officials want to begin construction in 20 years on a $300 million parallel tube to the Midtown Tunnel and are looking at tolls as a long-term funding source. ILLUSTRATION: Staff map
Proposed Pinners Point Interchange
For copy of map, see microfilm
by CNB