DATE: Thursday, May 1, 1997                 TAG: 9705010498

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   63 lines

U.S. 17 EXPANSION PLAN IRKS CHESAPEAKE RESIDENTS MORE THAN 30 HOMES COULD BE LOST UNDER ONE OPTION FOR THE FOUR-LANE DIVIDED HIGHWAY.

Transportation and environmental officials deciding how to expand U.S. Route 17 to the North Carolina line told residents Wednesday night that they will consider impacts to all habitats - including those belonging to humans.

More than 100 residents who live near the two-lane road packed a meeting called by civic leaders to hear from federal, state and city representatives.

Many were worried that their homes - some in the family for generations in this mostly rural part of the city - would be lost to the four-lane divided highway.

More than 30 homes could be taken under one plan proposed by the Virginia Department of Transportation that routes the new thoroughfare along West Road to the east.

A second plan calls for expansion of the current road, which runs along the eastern border of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. That, according to federal land managers charged with reviewing VDOT's plans, could bring devastating consequences to recovering black bears, shrews and migrating birds, as well as to two historic houses and plans for a refuge visitors' center.

While all the officials emphasized that no decision has been made, each agency pointed to specific impacts that should be avoided. And because federal money and property will be used for a state construction project within a city, agencies from all levels will have a say in the outcome.

Alice Grimes, from the Army Corps of Engineers, said the peat soil surrounding the current route makes it a difficult place to build. The corps will not choose the alternative, but it controls federal permits.

Lloyd Culp, director of the refuge - under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - emphasized the need to keep paths for birds and animals to travel to other wildlife sanctuaries.

Expanding Route 17 along the edge of the swamp would not only wall off the corridors for animals, but it also would pose dangers to motorists in their path.

VDOT says only one home would be displaced if the existing road were widened, and the project would cost less because fewer homes would be condemned.

Shifting the road significantly could cause the decision-making process to begin again, further pushing back the construction - which isn't slated to begin until after 2000 on the 10-mile stretch, said Jack McCambridge from VDOT.

While VDOT estimates costs of $22 million to expand the current road and $39 million to build on West Road, Grimes from the corps refutes the numbers because, she said, VDOT did not consider the cost of building on the peat soil close to the refuge.

City Council members John Butt and Peter Duda, who served on the panel with state and federal representatives, both declared their aversion to condemning houses. The City Council is expected to pass a resolution supporting an alternative.

The calm explanation of the process did not quell residents' anger. Many shouted out their frustration at having their plight equated with those of wildlife.

Keith Harris of West Road suggested building an elevated road to avoid them. And at the request of another resident, most of the neighbors raised their hands to show support for expanding the highway where it is. KEYWORDS: ROAD CONSTRUCTION

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