THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, April 21, 1995                 TAG: 9504210486
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                     LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Clarification The razing of toll booths on the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway will not begin until the tolls are eliminated by the state June 1. The work that was referred to in a Friday MetroNews story involved contracts and planning, not demolition. Correction published in The Virginian-Pilot and the Ledger-Star on Saturday, April 22, 1995, on page A2. ***************************************************************** FIRM TO START REMOVING TOLL BOOTHS ON ROUTE 44

The last day for collecting tolls on the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway is more than a month away, but work is under way to remove the toll-collecting equipment from Route 44 - a process expected to slow traffic at the toll plaza.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded a $1.4 million contract Thursday to Central Atlantic Contractors Inc. of Farmville to remove the toll canopy and the toll equipment at the toll plaza by June 16.

The removal of the toll equipment on the exit ramps will begin after the main toll facility is razed, according to state transportation officials.

The $1.4 million cost of removing the toll equipment equals about one month's revenue from the only road to charge a toll in the region. The tolls will end June 1 instead of the previous date of July 1, at the request of Gov. George F. Allen.

Allen asked the General Assembly to abolish the tolls a month earlier than scheduled to avert the usual traffic jam over the Fourth of July weekend. The change to June 1 was approved by the legislators April 5.

But other work specified in the contract is expected to take five months. Various lanes will be closed and the speed limit will be reduced to 40 mph at the toll plaza during the work.

Removing the tolls is a cumbersome process, according to C.A. ``Al'' Nash, the Suffolk district administrator for the state transportation department.

The roadway at the toll plaza will be leveled. A slight bump exists where the toll plaza crosses the interstate. In addition, a law enforcement truck inspection station is expected to be built alongside the eastbound lanes.

For safety, a concrete barrier will be erected between the eastbound and westbound lanes at the existing toll plaza, Nash said. by CNB