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

DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995                TAG: 9508130350
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER       PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Editorial 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   38 lines

INTERSTATE 64 OPEN ROAD

[T]hey taught us in high school geometry that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But anyone who drives a car knows that the shortest route is often the one with the least congestion.

For that reason, the Virginia Department of Transportation's proposal to renumber Interstates 64 and 664 and Route 44 makes sense. Under the plan, Interstate 664 on the Peninsula would be renamed Interstate 64 and would link up with the current Interstate 64 after crossing the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. Route 44 out to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront also would be renamed Interstate 64.

Out-of-town tourists on their way to the beach would be encouraged to bypass the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and stay on the interstate straight through to their destination.

More of the summertime traffic in and out of Hampton Roads would be routed through Chesapeake, which surely couldn't hurt the city's economy and general reputation. But, unlike the route through the city to the Outer Banks beaches, the highway is adequate to keep the traffic moving, and disruptions to local movement shouldn't be adversely affected.

The renumbering plan would also eliminate that annoying quirk in the present system in which motorists traveling on I-64 East into Chesapeake are actually going due west.

The renumbering plan received favorable reaction at public hearings held last week and the city councils in both Chesapeake and Virginia Beach have endorsed the idea. The only thing left to do is to reprint the maps. by CNB