THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 18, 1995 TAG: 9510180367
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHINCOTEAGUE LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Ralph Kwak smells disaster brewing. He bought into a motel on Chincoteague, hoping to retire, make a little money and get acquainted with literally everyone on the island.
Now the Virginia Department of Transportation wants to replace the Chincoteague Channel bridge. VDOT has suggested three sites for the new bridge. One really worries him: a tall bridge that would be built above 1,500 feet of what is now Maddox Boulevard, the road that goes to Assateague Island's wildlife refuge and beach.
At least 11 homes and six businesses - including Kwak's home and Beach Road Motel - would be swept aside to build a bridge like that, plans show. But locals fear as many as 50 properties would be affected, and business would be diverted from downtown shops.
``I honestly think that if this bypass is built, you'll see empty storefronts on Main Street again,'' Kwak said.
Today, the Department of Transportation will sponsor a hearing at the Chincoteague fire house from 4 to 8 p.m. to get public reaction to that proposal and two others for new bridges. Strong opposition to the Maddox Boulevard site is expected.
``We really are concerned about the adverse affect on the community,'' said Ray Davis, a leader of the opposition. He said local business owners would prefer a swinging bridge in the same location as the existing one. Their second choice, he said, would be a lift-gate bridge at that location. If it can't be built in the same place, he said, a new bridge should be close to the old one.
``We feel anything else would significantly affect the businesses in town,'' said Davis.
But a new bridge can't be built in exactly the same place as the old one, said Will Cumming, resident engineer for VDOT on the Eastern Shore. And pulling some traffic out of the narrow Main Street corridor might actually help the downtown function better, he said.
``We're just trying to build something that will meet as many people's needs as possible,'' Cumming said. ``But the bridges need to be replaced. They are deteriorating.''
In March 1994, VDOT started looking at options for new bridges over Black Narrows and Chincoteague Channel. By Sept. 1, 1995, the Transportation Department issued its draft environmental assessment of the project.
The assessment considered three options. Two would replace both bridges with a single fixed-span bridge, connecting to Maddox Boulevard to the north or to Bunting Road to the south. The third would replace the fixed bridge over Black Narrows and put a new moveable-span bridge near the existing bridge over Chincoteague Channel and tied into Main Street.
The Maddox Boulevard bridge would be 4,000 feet long and at least 40 feet above high water. Chincoteague Channel runs close to the island at that point, so the bridge would have to slope down onto Maddox several blocks from the beginning of the road. Maddox Boulevard, the route to the beach, is one of the most densely developed streets on the island.
Although the environmental assessment said the elevated roadway would ``result in the displacement of several families and businesses,'' it continued to say that ``this project is not likely to adversely affect the quality of the human environment. There will be no disruption to an established community or its planned development.''
``The engineers don't consider the socio-economic factors,'' said Kwak. ``Those are the things that we're really concerned about.''
Kwak said the Maddox Boulevard bridge was designed to funnel day-trippers onto the wildlife refuge and beach. But Assateague Island's recreation area only has 961 parking spaces, he said, and even those may not stay open for long if the beach continues to erode.
Another plan would put a 6,000-foot, high-rise bridge across Black Narrows and Chincoteague Channel to the south of the existing bridge. The channel is further from shore at this point, allowing the bridge more space to descend. It would reach land at the same level as Bunting Road, so no property would be ruined by its approach.
But this option was opposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. All objected to potential impact on wetlands and nesting birds.
Under both high-rise bridge plans, the transportation department may consider buying tiny Marsh Island so that it doesn't have to provide vehicle access to the homeowners there.
That could be expensive. There are 10 condominiums, six townhouses, five single family homes and a marina on Marsh Island.
The third option - a downtown location near the existing bridge - requires a moveable bridge. Cumming said VDOT spends $114,000 each year just to man the current swing bridge, not to mention upkeep. Moveable spans cost more to construct and more to maintain, he said, so VDOT tries to avoid building them.
``There's no one good answer to this one,'' said Cumming, the resident engineer. ``I don't really know that VDOT has a most favored plan. I'm not aware of anyone in VDOT who is saying, `This is the one we're building.' ''
Ray Davis isn't sure that's really the case. He thinks the Transportation Department is deadly serious about the Maddox Boulevard alternative.
``It does appear to be the only option that they have done any work on,'' Davis said. ILLUSTRATION: Map
BRIDGE PROPOSALS for CHINCOTEAGUE
JOHN EARLE/The Virginian-Pilot
SOURCE: Virginia Department of Transportation
by CNB