THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190388
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 52 lines
For 14 years, Mary Johnson has camped off Carolina Road at a secluded spot that could be disrupted, she said, if the Southwest Suffolk Bypass is built as planned.
``I go out there because it is quiet and peaceful,'' said Johnson, who lives in Portsmouth and keeps a camper at Davis Lakes Campground in Suffolk.
``But you can't stand in the way of progress,'' she said.
The bypass is designed to get heavy truck traffic off Turlington Road - a winding, residential link between U.S. Route 58 and Carolina Road, or U.S. Route 13.
But the four-lane bypass would be noisy and cut through part of the campground, Johnson said.
State Department of Transportation officials held a public hearing Tuesday, hoping to allay concerns about the project, changed several times and delayed for years because of lack of funds. More than 80 people attended. Comments may be submitted until Feb. 28.
If plans go as scheduled, work on the 2.7-mile bypass could start in late 1998 and take about two and a half years.
Many Turlington Road residents are anxious to get the trucks away from them. ``I hope I live long enough to see it,'' said retiree Roger Winsor.
Last year, the city designated Turlington as a temporary truck route until the bypass is built.
Some, however, are not happy.
``They're going to take our turn lane,'' said R. Herbert Brinkley Jr., owner of Herb's Barbecue on Carolina Road near the proposed interchange.
``Seventy-five percent of our business is southbound out of the city of Suffolk,'' he said. ``They're not going to go up the road and turn around.''
The project would take part of several front yards - or possibly all the properties - along Carolina Road for a turn lane heading south.
``I don't have a problem with trucks,'' said Katherine Kinsey, whose property would be affected. ``I just don't really want one in my front yard.''
She and her husband, William, fear they could not replace their home with the money they would get if they had to sell.
Dale Knowles, who lives on Northbrooke Avenue near the Route 58 interchange, is concerned about noise and vibration.
Denise Davis-Thomas, Davis Lakes Campground manager, said the bypass will help the community but she is concerned about the effect on the business. ``We don't have answers,'' she said.
Louise Hedgspeth, who lives on Griggs Street off Turlington, said the bypass would be too close to Kilby Shores Elementary School.
``It's a terrible idea,'' she said, adding that an earlier plan would have taken her house.
``But they'll be changing it again,'' she said.