THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504080275
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
For years, some North Carolinians and Virginians have envisioned northeastern North Carolina as a ``sixth city'' of South Hampton Roads, tied to the region economically, culturally and politically.
But North Carolina officials aren't willing to go that far, even after this week's breakthrough in the 15-year-old dispute over the Lake Gaston pipeline.
Eastern Carolina officials do, however, see the Gaston compromise proposed by a federal mediator Thursday as a springboard for a new era of interstate cooperation.
``I don't want to say we're going to become another city for the Tidewater area,'' said Dare County Commissioner Geneva Perry. ``But we share many common aspects of our lives because of geography. For that reason, it's important that we sit down and talk about our common interests.''
Even before the latest turn in the Gaston saga, the boards of commissioners in Dare and Currituck counties had scheduled an April 27 meeting with city leaders in Chesapeake. At the top of the agenda, along with the Gaston issue, will be improvements to Virginia Route 168, from the Virginia-North Carolina line to Chesapeake's Great Bridge.
``I think we now have common ground,'' Dare County spokesman Charles Hartig said. ``Because of the unprecedented breakthrough on Lake Gaston, improvements to (Route) 168 will become a reality. I think when the commissioners meet with the council from Chesapeake, the emphasis is going to be on working together to expedite these improvements.''
Michael J. Barrett, immediate past president of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, said the link between the two regions is obvious.
``The citizens . . . have chosen, by virtue of their activities of daily life, to say, `We're part of Hampton Roads,' '' Barrett said.
Between 10,000 and 12,000 North Carolina commuters travel to Hampton Roads daily, according to Hans Gant, president of the business group Forward Hampton Roads. About 720,000 employees make up the civilian work force in Tidewater.
About 26 percent of Dare County's property owners are from Virginia. And according to 1989 figures released by the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, about 30.8 percent of the 7 million tourists a year who visit the Outer Banks come from Virginia.
Perry said upgrading Route 168, the thoroughfare most northern tourists use to reach the Outer Banks, is vital. North Carolina has approved funds for widening its section of the highway, but Chesapeake's longtime goal of widening the existing Battlefield Boulevard stretch, or building a new parallel road, has yet to be funded.
``That is a major concern for us, obviously, because of tourists,'' Perry said. ``No one wants to get bottled up in traffic for three hours because the road goes to two lanes in Virginia.''
Dare County Commissioner Doug Langford says the benefit of settling the Lake Gaston dispute would extend beyond tourism, roads and water.
``In a lot of the material I've read, it looks as though this is a one-way street. But the door goes both ways,'' Langford said. ``This will not only open markets in the Tidewater area to the purchasing power of northeastern North Carolina; businesses in North Carolina will benefit as well.''
Perry said the new era of cooperation has been a long time coming.
``Many years ago, Sen. (Marc) Basnight talked about how we were neighbors and should act like it. I think both states realize how important it is to be good neighbors.'' MEMO: Staff writer Karen Weintraub contributed to this story.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON PIPELINE WATER SUPPLY PLAN TIDEWATER by CNB