THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1996 TAG: 9604090288
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr. said he would ask the City Council to again reject the proposed Southeastern Expressway.
Nance said Monday that he plans to make a motion during tonight's council meeting that the city oppose the multimillion-dollar highway until the state develops a funding plan for a new section of Virginia Route 168.
The city has said that a bypass to congested South Battlefield Boulevard, a prime route for Outer Banks-bound motorists, is its top highway priority.
Nance said he will also continue to oppose the 20-mile expressway connecting Virginia Beach and Chesapeake until he is sure that the proposed route won't affect homes and businesses in the city's Greenbrier neighborhood.
``I don't want to get down the road and have that gun held to my head,'' said Nance, who is up for re-election in May. ``I want to address it now.''
This would be the second time that Nance has spearheaded an effort to block the expressway. In 1994, at Nance's urging, the Chesapeake council voted 7-2 to oppose the road for the same reasons.
The Southeastern Expressway was thought to be dead after that vote.
But after renaming it the Southeastern Parkway and Greenbelt, Virginia Beach sent the matter to the state's Commonwealth Transportation Board.
In February, despite Chesapeake's objections, the state board approved Virginia Beach's preferred alignment, keeping the expressway alive and allowing an environmental study to begin.
Virginia Beach has included a funding plan for its portion of the $354 million road in the latest proposed capital budget.
The approved route will travel from Interstates 64 and 464 in Chesapeake to Route 44 in Virginia Beach. From Chesapeake, the proposed route crosses Indian River Road and Princess Anne Road into the Lake Ridge/Dam Neck area. The route then runs along the eastern side of Oceana Naval Air Base to Route 44. by CNB