THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608170271
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 85 lines
Traffic slowed in spurts on Virginia Route 168 and U.S. 17 Friday as the city began asking motorists for information that will help engineers plan a replacement for the busy link to North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Surveyors began handing questionnaires to drivers along the southern stretches of the two roads on Friday. It was the first in a series of surveys at random locations of Route 168, or South Battlefield Boulevard, and Route 17, the George Washington Highway.
The surveys, which have return postage already on them, will continue to be distributed several days next week. Travelers in the area should expect delays.
The surveys will be used to flesh out plans for a new Route 168, which city officials say may include a toll plaza.
Route 168 stretches from the bustling heart of Chesapeake into North Carolina, but on the way it changes from a three-lane highway flanked by strip malls and gas stations into a thin two-lane route slicing through countryside. On busy summer days, the traffic snarls.
The city has tried to divert vacation traffic to Route 17, the George Washington Highway, but officials have long realized that improvements to Route 168 are needed.
City engineer Ray Stout, who is helping coordinate the survey witha private contractor, said information from the surveys will help the city decide what kind of new road is needed.
The surveys will also help determine where a toll plaza could be built and if additional tolls placed at on- and off-ramps would be worthwhile.
The new route would be built parallel to the current Route 168, which would remain as Battlefield Boulevard and cater to local traffic. Stout said the city hopes the new Route 168 project can be completed in the late 1990s and that the road would be functional by 2000.
With an escort of two Chesapeake police officers, Angelo M. Epps, 22, stood in the middle of Route 168 near Hickory Friday and passed out forms as drivers slowed to a crawl near a stretch surrounded by farmland. Two massive portable flood-light racks stood at the side of the road, ready to illuminate the checkpoint as the sun fell.
Some drivers, upset by the delay, barely slowed their cars while snatching the cards from Epps, who thanked them politely just the same.
One driver greeted Epps with the familiar middle-finger gesture after waiting in line for 10 minutes. Epps, a $5.50-an-hour temporary employee hired by the contractor handling the survey for Chesapeake, thanked him, too, even though the fellow hadn't bothered to roll down his car window.
Charles S. Wooten, 62, was among those who waited through a bumper-to-bumper procession that at times stretched miles back into Great Bridge. The lifelong resident of Buckingham County and his wife, Shirley, were on the way to visit their daughter in Nags Head.
``Do I get a prize?'' he quipped after getting his survey.
No, he was informed. It's a traffic survey.
``Thought y'all had a wreck up here at first,'' Wooten said after passing the card to Shirley, who began to fill it out immediately.
The survey asked about the nature of their trip. It also asked the dimensions of their car, how many passengers they had and how often they traveled the road.
Some drivers Friday said they were willing to complete the forms if their input would help speed up the construction. .
``It's a resort area down there,'' said Richard L. Blackmon, 43, of Kitty Hawk, who was traveling home when he was handed his survey. ``People are going to go down there regardless of a toll.''
Blackmon said a new road would be good for the North Carolina beaches and for the travelers heading that way.
``It's bad for it to be such a bummer to get down there,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: B\W photos by V.W. VAUGHAN photos
Chesapeake police officer D.C. Hurst helps direct traffic along
Route 168 as surveys were handed out on Friday. City officials say
the plans for an alternative route may include tolls.
V.W. VAUGHAN photos
Top, Charles S. Wooten and his wife, Shirley, were on their way to
visit their daughter in Nags Head on Friday when they received a
survey.. Above, the surveys were handed out by Angelo M. Epps, who
stood in the middle of the road, flanked by two police officers.
Map/VP
Area shown
U.S. Route 17
Va. Route 168
KEYWORDS: SURVEY TRAFFIC ROUTE 168 OUTER BANKS by CNB