THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509200192
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 206 lines
FOR THE PAST 21 years, the southwestern leg of the Suffolk Bypass has been nothing more than a 2 1/2-mile line on paper.
But it is a powerful line, having influenced elections, clogged downtown Suffolk's streets and provided a collective headache for a city trying to revive its ailing image.
Without the bypass, heavy truck traffic clips through the heart of the narrow downtown - at about 3,000 vehicles per day - often challenging traffic lights, clogging streets and, in some cases, adding to the deterioration of buildings. Pedestrians sometimes find it hard to cross streets. And trucks loaded with hogs and chickens leave a lasting impression.
``If I was on the phone at the front of the store when a truck came by, I couldn't hear,'' said Lynnette Park, owner of Holmes Ltd.
Park, who spent 46 years doing business downtown, moved her women's fashion store two miles away, into a shopping center, in search of a smaller store.
``A lot of my older customers did not like having to park and cross the street with the trucks,'' said Park. ``They also didn't like the odor from all the pig trucks.
``The bypass would be just a blessing for us. I have the greatest confidence in downtown Suffolk. And I think that's one thing that would really bring it back for us.''
When built, the bypass will relieve Suffolk of some of this torture. The question is, when?
State Department of Transportation officials say construction of the road will not begin until 1998.
However, according to the state's six-year transportation plan, the work is expected to begin as soon as 1996. And until Thomas G. Hines, Suffolk's director of public works, hears otherwise, the city plans to hold the state accountable for the 1996 date.
``We go by the book that comes from the Department of Transportation,'' said Hines. ``And until the Secretary of Transportation changes the book, this is what we're going to go by.''
Already, as Suffolk begins to construct a new courthouse in the middle of downtown, the bypass is too late. And, according to transportation officials, it may be even later than expected.
Pleas from state legislators, the support of Gov. George F. Allen and $2.8 million spent thus far have helped this road project advance some since it was proposed in 1965.
It's closer than it has ever been to being built, but Suffolk's most important transportation project still faces several major hurdles before it bears its first truck.
And, if history is any indicator, transportation officials believe some of the hurdles may further delay the roadway.
``From Suffolk's standpoint, it is extremely important and vital,'' said Hines. ``But when you weigh it against another tube for Portsmouth or the expansion of Route 168 to North Carolina, this project has a very, very low priority to the heads of VDOT.''
Jim Cleveland, acting administrator for the state transportation department's Suffolk District, said last week that the environmental impacts of the road are still unknown.
In addition, the $21 million bypass has to vie for 10 percent of the area's annual road funding to begin construction, going head-to-head with the region's other key projects.
``It has a lot of stiff competition,'' Cleveland said.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will consider approving the road's location today, two months after a series of location hearings. Next comes the design-phase, along with an intense environmental review of the project.
However, both the state's and the city's predictions come well before the bypass' environmental impact statement begins to study areas through which the road is proposed.
Some wetlands, as well as protected or endangered animals and plants, are believed to live along the proposed route.
The federally endangered eastern big-eared bat is said to roost in old buildings near swampy areas, but researchers have not found any buildings that fit this description.
The state-endangered white fringed orchid and trumpet pitcher plant are also thought to be in the area. A survey will be conducted.
Another environmental concern involves building a bridge for the bypass over Lake Kilby, a natural reservoir owned by the city of Portsmouth.
The construction could prove tricky, as Portsmouth officials have declared land around the water as conservation easements to restrict development and protect their watershed.
ON PAPER, THE Southwest Bypass runs from U.S. Routes 13/32, known locally as Carolina Road, to the Holland Road intersection of U.S. Route 58, at the western edge of the northwest Suffolk bypass.
The route follows closely the path of Turlington Road, a two-lane route that is currently handling a hefty portion of truck traffic bypassing downtown. Current plans would move a portion of Turlington Road for the bypass to be built.
On the books, the bypass is scheduled to be a four-lane, divided highway, 48 feet wide, with 12-foot shoulders and a 42-foot-wide graded median.
It would be 250 feet wide over the entire 2.5-mile length, running through mostly agricultural and timberland. The state currently owns about 30 of the needed 75 acres. The remainder has yet to be purchased. Residents of at least five homes would likely be displaced, according to a state report.
The state Department of Transportation estimates that the bypass would reduce travel time between Holland Road and Carolina Road by only about 2 1/2 minutes.
In addition, the city is excited that the bypass would provide easy access to developing and potentially developing residential, commercial and industrial areas in southwest Suffolk, according to the state's environmental assessment. The city-owned Suffolk Industrial Park lies at the southern end of the proposed bypass.
TO STATE AND CITY officials, those benefits are not as important as reducing the amount of truck traffic flowing into downtown.
Commercial traffic mixes with residential traffic on Suffolk's Main Street. Congestion, railroad crossings and uncontrolled intersections compound the problem.
Reverberations of tractor-trailers have taken a toll on some downtown architecture, causing exterior walls on some buildings to crumble. And with so much noisy truck traffic, merchants have had a tough time convincing people to shop downtown.
The apex of Suffolk's downtown truck woes occurred in 1993, when a Smithfield packing plant truck spilled about 700 pounds of pig parts. The accident tied up traffic for three hours and provided an embarrassing moment for a city trying to better itself.
AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT of truck traffic will continue to impact downtown Suffolk until the bypass is built - all while city officials struggle to revamp the business district, in part with a new $14 million courthouse facility and additional parking. Demolition of surrounding buildings is scheduled to begin next month.
It is the city's most aggressive attempt yet at opening up its dilapidated downtown to shopping and sightseeing. But during all of it, the curse of the Southwest Bypass will remain downtown's curse.
Because of the lack of the bypass, truck traffic through Main Street is being re-routed along the city's alternative truck route, a winding route that skirts downtown.
Local legislators, as well as city officials, had wanted the bypass completed before the city began renovating downtown.
``The traffic problem has been and continues to be a detriment to the city's efforts to revitalize downtown and promote economic development,'' wrote former City Manager Richard L. Hedrick last year.
Delays in building the bypass have long been a source of frustration, going so far as to help decide an election.
In 1991, Republican Robert E. Nelms defeated 22-year incumbent Del. J. Samuel Glasscock in a heated race to represent the 76th District in Richmond.
Nelms pounded away on the lack of progress on building both the southwest and southeast legs of the bypass during Glasscock's tenure.
``It has been over 15 years since the first half of the Suffolk Bypass was completed,'' Nelms said in 1991. ``No additional work has been done to complete the bypass since that time.''
Glasscock answered Nelms' criticism by saying the road could not be built until the state had enough money. Some voters apparently didn't listen. Nelms' victory was one of the biggest upsets that year, ending Glasscock's political career.
Four years later, after being re-elected in 1993, Nelms has made some progress. He helped get the Southwest Bypass included in the state's six-year transportation plan, a funding schedule for road projects across Virginia. About $2.8 million has been spent researching the road thus far.
However, the Southeast Bypass, which would run from Carolina Road east towards U.S. Route 58, remains outside the state's future transportation plans. No money has been earmarked for it.
So far, the Southwest Bypass has been delayed by bureaucracy, thanks in part to the complicated process of building a road in Virginia.
In the state's current road plans, the buying of land for the Southwest Bypass was scheduled to begin in July 1994. However, new federal requirements delayed the process.
A major investment study, a new federal requirement that is required to examine alternatives to a transportation problem without building a road, was required for the bypass. It took six months to complete.
Next came the location hearings, on which the Commonwealth Transportation Board will vote this week. After this, the final environmental review is conducted as well as the design hearings.
However, if changes occur to the road after the design hearings, the hearing process must start all over again. The hearings take three months each. The design hearing, if all goes according to schedule, should be held in the fall of 1996.
So far, the development of the Southwest Bypass has taken nine months and VDOT officials admit that they are about seven months behind schedule.
But Nelms, who is unopposed in this year's election, continues to pledge his support for the road, going so far as to ask the state Secretary of Transportation to speed up the bureaucratic process.
The secretary, in a letter provided by Nelms, said the process could not be speeded up.
``I assure you,'' wrote Robert E. Martinez, secretary of transportation, ``that the review process by both VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board will not delay the projected construction date.'' MEMO: TRANSPORTATION BOARD TO MEET
The Commonwealth Transportation Board will consider approving the
location of the Southwest Bypass today at 10 a.m. in Richmond.
Location hearings were held in July to allow public comment on the
plans. Those attending commented on a number of things, including the
need for sound walls, what would be done to relocate property owners and
the noise and pollution generated by truck traffic on the bypass.
After the location hearing, the final environmental document on the
road is prepared. A design hearing will also be held.
If changes occur after the design hearing, the process must start all
over again. The hearings take three months each, according to VDOT.
VDOT officials have said construction will begin in 1998, but Suffolk
officials are holding the state to its official road-building schedule,
which says the work will begin in 1996. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Once the southwestern leg of the Suffolk Bypass is built, city
officials hope that truck traffic will be eliminated in the heart of
downtown Suffolk.
Map
by CNB