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Author Topic: I-73 in VA  (Read 244534 times)

Beltway

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #800 on: March 24, 2020, 10:34:05 AM »

I just noticed in the DEIS design for the MSC northern terminus interchange that the ramps carrying US 220 aren't even two lanes...
That can easily change during final design.
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VTGoose

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #801 on: March 24, 2020, 06:57:43 PM »

I am just glad that VDOT is working on it. Once MSC is finished, hopefully they can incorporate it into I-73 (I know they will). Between Martinsville and Roanoke.. who knows. Maybe they're just taking it slow. As of Roanoke area, I-581 is already there, but it is now a placeholder for I-73. They can change signage from I-581 to I-73 if they want to.

I look forward to attend to more meetings about MSC once the coronavirus outbreak slows down.

Tagging I-581 as anything more than "Future I-73" accomplishes nothing. There is a large gap between VA 419 and Martinsville that will require new highway on new right of way. Between the expense of that, the resistance of people in the area, and the pressing needs to fix I-81, this highway will remain in the "fictional" realm for a long time.

Bruce in Florida (temporary relocation from Blacksburg, waiting on a new grandchild)

Resistance of people in the area? Okkkkkay. Go to the workshops and tell me I am wrong. I-73 is no longer in fictional realm. It already exists in NC.

Yeah, that's North Carolina. It is the people who live in the path in Franklin County and Roanoke County who weren't keen on the proposed routes for a new highway. There is probably the same resistance today that there was when this was first proposed.
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sparker

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #802 on: March 25, 2020, 04:05:24 AM »

I for one would like to get a cross-section of opinion from various forum members on this question:

Is the principal obstacle (besides the "universal" one of funding issues) to the development and completion of the I-73 corridor (a) continued local opposition or (b) disinterest and/or lower priority within state planning circles, including those of VDOT itself?  And if a combination of these two, which one would or could be resolved first while the other would tend to persist? 
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Beltway

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #803 on: March 25, 2020, 07:45:12 AM »

I for one would like to get a cross-section of opinion from various forum members on this question:
Is the principal obstacle (besides the "universal" one of funding issues) to the development and completion of the I-73 corridor (a) continued local opposition or (b) disinterest and/or lower priority within state planning circles, including those of VDOT itself?  And if a combination of these two, which one would or could be resolved first while the other would tend to persist? 
There has been ample amounts of support, especially from Martinsville and Danville and those counties.

The one big obstacle as I have said many times, is THE COST.  $4 billion.
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #804 on: March 25, 2020, 09:35:50 AM »

I for one would like to get a cross-section of opinion from various forum members on this question:
Is the principal obstacle (besides the "universal" one of funding issues) to the development and completion of the I-73 corridor (a) continued local opposition or (b) disinterest and/or lower priority within state planning circles, including those of VDOT itself?  And if a combination of these two, which one would or could be resolved first while the other would tend to persist? 
There has been ample amounts of support, especially from Martinsville and Danville and those counties.

The one big obstacle as I have said many times, is THE COST.  $4 billion.
But has there been support at the state level, as sparker asked, or only local/county?

sprjus4

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #805 on: March 25, 2020, 09:42:14 AM »

I for one would like to get a cross-section of opinion from various forum members on this question:
Is the principal obstacle (besides the "universal" one of funding issues) to the development and completion of the I-73 corridor (a) continued local opposition or (b) disinterest and/or lower priority within state planning circles, including those of VDOT itself?  And if a combination of these two, which one would or could be resolved first while the other would tend to persist? 
There has been ample amounts of support, especially from Martinsville and Danville and those counties.

The one big obstacle as I have said many times, is THE COST.  $4 billion.
But has there been support at the state level, as sparker asked, or only local/county?
I'd say more local / county level support over state level. In regards to large scale funding, the eastern part seems to get the majority of the limited money. After all, that's where the three largest metros in the state are located - Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond.

The I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan is the first large-scale project to be approved for the western part of the state in a long time, and even it is only addressing select areas, not the entire corridor's long-term need - 6-lane widening.

The US-58 corridor has also seen a decent amount of 4-lane widening, the entire corridor east to west seeing over $1 billion in improvements in the past 30 years, at least 50 miles of widening and the remaining planned in the next decade east of I-77.

As far as I-73 itself, no funding has been allocated to construction since its inception in 1991, and no -new- miles has been built.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2020, 09:44:27 AM by sprjus4 »
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Beltway

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #806 on: March 25, 2020, 10:02:14 AM »

There has been ample amounts of support, especially from Martinsville and Danville and those counties.  The one big obstacle as I have said many times, is THE COST.  $4 billion.
But has there been support at the state level, as sparker asked, or only local/county?
Since the state is the one who would be paying for and administrating the project, the cost is an obvious reason why they have not programmed any projects.  Even 1/8 of that is $500 million.

I'd say more local / county level support over state level. In regards to large scale funding, the eastern part seems to get the majority of the limited money. After all, that's where the three largest metros in the state are located - Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond.
Not for long.  The 7 cents per gallon fuel tax increment for H.R. and NoVA will go statewide on 7-1-2020.  Statewide another 5 cents on 7-1-2020 and another 5 cents on 7-1-2021.  Actually I don't think it has been signed into law yet, but it almost certainly will be.

I will predict that after the next SYIP annual update, that I-73 will be programmed for Preliminary Engineering including updating the EIS process to a new FEIS and ROD.

The US-58 corridor has also seen a decent amount of 4-lane widening, the entire corridor east to west seeing over $1 billion in improvements in the past 30 years, at least 50 miles of widening and the remaining planned in the next decade east of I-77.
18 miles is not yet built, in the Hillsville to Stuart route.
 
« Last Edit: March 25, 2020, 10:07:00 AM by Beltway »
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sprjus4

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #807 on: April 13, 2020, 05:47:56 PM »

Looking Back: News items from The Roanoke Times & World-News from 25, 50 and 100 years ago
Quote
1995 (25 years ago)
“The press box at the NASCAR speedway seemed an appropriate place for Virginia Sen. John Warner to accelerate the drive for proposed Interstate 73. Warner, a Republican who’s the new chairman of a subcommittee that will write the Senate’s version of a National Highway System bill, said he will include language requiring that I-73 be built the way Virginia transportation officials want it, specifying that the road pass through Roanoke.”

Quote

Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads, a coalition opposing the construction of Interstate 73, picket on the corner of Elm Avenue and Williamson Road across from Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital in Roanoke in March 1999.

It is the people who live in the path in Franklin County and Roanoke County who weren't keen on the proposed routes for a new highway. There is probably the same resistance today that there was when this was first proposed.
^ I'm assuming this is an example of that resistance when it was first proposed.

The only thing that's keeping their wish is lack of funding. Whenever this project may get funded, it will be built. The level of opposition seems minor, the amount any construction project of this scale would see in a rural area, compared to the levels of support. Again, funding is the only thing keeping it from reality.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2020, 05:53:56 PM by sprjus4 »
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sparker

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #808 on: April 14, 2020, 03:38:51 AM »

Looking Back: News items from The Roanoke Times & World-News from 25, 50 and 100 years ago
Quote
1995 (25 years ago)
“The press box at the NASCAR speedway seemed an appropriate place for Virginia Sen. John Warner to accelerate the drive for proposed Interstate 73. Warner, a Republican who’s the new chairman of a subcommittee that will write the Senate’s version of a National Highway System bill, said he will include language requiring that I-73 be built the way Virginia transportation officials want it, specifying that the road pass through Roanoke.”

Quote

Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads, a coalition opposing the construction of Interstate 73, picket on the corner of Elm Avenue and Williamson Road across from Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital in Roanoke in March 1999.

It is the people who live in the path in Franklin County and Roanoke County who weren't keen on the proposed routes for a new highway. There is probably the same resistance today that there was when this was first proposed.
^ I'm assuming this is an example of that resistance when it was first proposed.

The only thing that's keeping their wish is lack of funding. Whenever this project may get funded, it will be built. The level of opposition seems minor, the amount any construction project of this scale would see in a rural area, compared to the levels of support. Again, funding is the only thing keeping it from reality.

IIRC, the original plans for the Roanoke segment of I-73 called for a new-terrain alignment around the city's edge up to an I-81 junction.  But now that it's settled that current I-581, long built, will serve as the in-city alignment, the type of protest from 25 years ago is unlikely to occur -- although general anti-freeway activists may still descend on the city if the overall VA project looks like it's actually reaching the letting stage.   
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VTGoose

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #809 on: April 14, 2020, 09:22:36 AM »


IIRC, the original plans for the Roanoke segment of I-73 called for a new-terrain alignment around the city's edge up to an I-81 junction.  But now that it's settled that current I-581, long built, will serve as the in-city alignment, the type of protest from 25 years ago is unlikely to occur -- although general anti-freeway activists may still descend on the city if the overall VA project looks like it's actually reaching the letting stage.   

That is the biggest hurdle to completing the road as an interstate -- the new-terrain alignment. There were a number of scenarios presented to get from south of Roanoke to I-81, offering routes at varying distances to the east and west around the city, in addition to using I-581 and some or all of U.S. 220 between Elm Avenue and VA 419. Even with I-581 tagged as the last piece to get to I-81, there is no easy way to get there from south of Boones Mill. Because of development, especially in south of VA 419, there is no place to upgrade the existing road. U.S. 220 already takes the path of least resistance through several gaps to reach Boones Mill. Whatever route is chosen will require some hefty cuts through some ridges and condemnation of a bit of property to reach the current four-lane in Roanoke. This will be quite an expensive endeavor.

So yes, lack of funding will keep the road at bay and opponents quiet -- for now.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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sparker

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #810 on: April 14, 2020, 05:47:44 PM »


IIRC, the original plans for the Roanoke segment of I-73 called for a new-terrain alignment around the city's edge up to an I-81 junction.  But now that it's settled that current I-581, long built, will serve as the in-city alignment, the type of protest from 25 years ago is unlikely to occur -- although general anti-freeway activists may still descend on the city if the overall VA project looks like it's actually reaching the letting stage.   

That is the biggest hurdle to completing the road as an interstate -- the new-terrain alignment. There were a number of scenarios presented to get from south of Roanoke to I-81, offering routes at varying distances to the east and west around the city, in addition to using I-581 and some or all of U.S. 220 between Elm Avenue and VA 419. Even with I-581 tagged as the last piece to get to I-81, there is no easy way to get there from south of Boones Mill. Because of development, especially in south of VA 419, there is no place to upgrade the existing road. U.S. 220 already takes the path of least resistance through several gaps to reach Boones Mill. Whatever route is chosen will require some hefty cuts through some ridges and condemnation of a bit of property to reach the current four-lane in Roanoke. This will be quite an expensive endeavor.

So yes, lack of funding will keep the road at bay and opponents quiet -- for now.

Bruce in Blacksburg


All well & good -- but what I was actually wondering is if any localized opposition would be of the "typical" NIMBY variety -- potentially displaced property owners, bypassed roadside businesses, etc. -- or would there be more to it that would provoke large-scale "class action" activities that would draw outside groups (such as Norquist and his followers), turning the opposition into a widely publicized movement.  It would seem, at initial glance, that general urban displacement when the northernmost part of that route through or near central Roanoke was under consideration was the primary provoker of the demonstrations 25 years ago, but while the I-581 facility doesn't extend far enough south to obviate some costly construction exiting the city, its use obviates the problem of uprooting more extensive marginal populations near the city center -- placing whatever opposition that may occur down the line in the more common NIMBY category -- particularly if the hilly area that would be most affected by the freeway was comprised of higher-income and higher-value property.  Not that their complaints wouldn't be legitimate -- but the context of their argument might yield a less compelling narrative over the long haul;  I-73 proponents might be able to frame such opposition as simple grousing by a smattering of affected residents rather than a major social issue.  One thing -- it'll certainly be a "must-see" process -- particularly if the project gains and retains traction within VDOT and other statewide circles. 
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Beltway

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #811 on: April 14, 2020, 05:54:20 PM »

All well & good -- but what I was actually wondering is if any localized opposition would be of the "typical" NIMBY variety -- potentially displaced property owners, bypassed roadside businesses, etc. -- or would there be more to it that would provoke large-scale "class action" activities that would draw outside groups (such as Norquist and his followers), turning the opposition into a widely publicized movement.
"Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads" no longer has a website, so I don't know whether they are still organized. 

They had participants all along the corridor, and citizens as well as RE/T groups like the Sierra Club, and normally they wait for a completed NEPA process (FEIS and ROD), that is when it becomes a federal issue that could be challenged in U.S. District Court. 

Without at least right-of-way being programmed, they would wait on filing a lawsuit.
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #812 on: April 14, 2020, 06:51:50 PM »

"Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads" no longer has a website, so I don't know whether they are still organized. 

They had participants all along the corridor, and citizens as well as RE/T groups like the Sierra Club, and normally they wait for a completed NEPA process (FEIS and ROD), that is when it becomes a federal issue that could be challenged in U.S. District Court. 

Without at least right-of-way being programmed, they would wait on filing a lawsuit.
As for opposition, the Sierra Club, SELC, and other RE/T groups seem to be the norm on any large-scale construction project, especially in rural areas. New interstate highways, new freeways, widening etc.

The "Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads" organization is interesting as it was a locally organized group that wasn't just attacking every infrastructure project in existence if it doesn't feature rail, bicycle, or pedestrian accommodations. They likely are not around anymore.
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #813 on: April 14, 2020, 07:15:42 PM »

The "Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads" organization is interesting as it was a locally organized group that wasn't just attacking every infrastructure project in existence if it doesn't feature rail, bicycle, or pedestrian accommodations. They likely are not around anymore.
They needed their own group, as they were far away from the region of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (Washington area) and Piedmont Environmental Council (Northern VA).

The official sounding name of the PEC notwithstanding, it is a private group for growth control advocacy.  As is CSG.
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #814 on: April 14, 2020, 10:23:20 PM »

"Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads" no longer has a website, so I don't know whether they are still organized. 

They had participants all along the corridor, and citizens as well as RE/T groups like the Sierra Club, and normally they wait for a completed NEPA process (FEIS and ROD), that is when it becomes a federal issue that could be challenged in U.S. District Court. 

Without at least right-of-way being programmed, they would wait on filing a lawsuit.

That group name leads me inevitably to wonder if it might have been getting some behind-the-scenes support from the Piedmont Environmental Council, which has a record of using front groups (such as the Coalition for Smarter Growth) to oppose highway projects that are outside of its self-proclaimed "service area," which runs from Loudoun County in the north to Albemarle County and City of Charlottesville in the south, plus Clarke County.

At one time, I think there was a PEC front group opposing highway improvements in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia (such as WV-9) and also one opposing improvements to I-81 in Virginia and West Virginia.  I do not recall their names now - this is 15 years or more ago. 

CSG was deeply involved in trying to whip up opposition to the MD-200 (ICC) project in the Maryland suburbs of D.C.
« Last Edit: April 14, 2020, 10:28:42 PM by cpzilliacus »
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Beltway

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #815 on: April 14, 2020, 10:45:59 PM »

"Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads" no longer has a website, so I don't know whether they are still organized. 
That group name leads me inevitably to wonder if it might have been getting some behind-the-scenes support from the Piedmont Environmental Council, which has a record of using front groups (such as the Coalition for Smarter Growth) to oppose highway projects that are outside of its self-proclaimed "service area," which runs from Loudoun County in the north to Albemarle County and City of Charlottesville in the south, plus Clarke County.
At one time, I think there was a PEC front group opposing highway improvements in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia (such as WV-9) and also one opposing improvements to I-81 in Virginia and West Virginia.  I do not recall their names now - this is 15 years or more ago. 
I see the problem … the name is Virginians for Appropriate Roads (VAR).  I still don't see a website but there is some info out there.  They appear separate from PEC and CSG.  I don't think that PEC's area goes south of Albemarle County.

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
http://www.bredl.org/info/2002/I-73_SERoanoke.htm

Nov. 14, 2002: Virginians For Appropriate Roads (VAR), a BREDL chapter, has won a battle in the nearly decade-long fight against a new terrain interstate from Roanoke, VA to the North Carolina state line.
VAR efforts and consultation work with Harry Reem, a historic preservation consultant from Arlington, VA, has led to a portion of Southeast Roanoke to be included as eligible for historic designation.  The approved I-73 route would traverse this section.
The working class neighborhood's 1920s-era bungalows and two-story houses, known as Four Squares, qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, the Interior Department said.


I now do recall that VAR did help obtain that historic designation, and that the approved new location alignment, a bonafide urban freeway, in Southeast Roanoke was canceled, and I-73 was moved to the entirety of I-581 and the US-220 Southwest Expressway.

More -- http://www.bredl.org/pdf4/I-73_Timeline.pdf

Nov. 14, 2002 — Efforts by citizen group Virginians for Appropriate Roads (VAR) obtain Historic eligibility status for portion of SE Roanoke. VDOT must route I-73 away from this community.

July 20, 2009 - US. District Court Judge James C. Turk issued a decision dismissing the lawsuit Virginians For Appropriate Roads, et al v. J. Richard Capka, et al, which was filed in October 2007.

January 25, 2010 - Appeal of the lawsuit Virginians For Appropriate Roads, et al v. J. Richard Capka, et al was settled out of court.  VAR reserved the right to challenge some issues if a Supplemental EIS is completed on the I-73 project.


So there have indeed been lawsuits in the federal courts over VA I-73 by the radical environmental/transit groups.
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #816 on: April 15, 2020, 01:00:40 PM »

Looking at the photograph, time frame, name of group (Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads), it would appear that they all got married, had kids, and sent them to Indiana University in Bloomington.  The kids had the same idea and set up CARR-Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, and set out to file every suit imaginable to stop I-69 several years ago.  I guess that I-73 may yet see the light in Virginia.
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #817 on: April 15, 2020, 01:27:06 PM »

Looking at the photograph, time frame, name of group (Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads), it would appear that they all got married, had kids, and sent them to Indiana University in Bloomington.  The kids had the same idea and set up CARR-Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, and set out to file every suit imaginable to stop I-69 several years ago.  I guess that I-73 may yet see the light in Virginia.
We see that their I-69 efforts were successful :bigass:

Over the last decade, 115 miles constructed, and the remaining 27 miles currently under construction.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2020, 01:29:23 PM by sprjus4 »
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #818 on: April 15, 2020, 01:57:41 PM »

Looking at the photograph, time frame, name of group (Virginians for Appropriate Rural Roads), it would appear that they all got married, had kids, and sent them to Indiana University in Bloomington. 
Some of them sent them to Oberlin College and some to the University of Wisconsin at Madison!  :)

The kids had the same idea and set up CARR-Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, and set out to file every suit imaginable to stop I-69 several years ago.  I guess that I-73 may yet see the light in Virginia.
South Carolina has the same problem as Virginia, the very high cost of building I-73.

August 2016 — A study done on making I-73 a toll road in South Carolina found that I-73 would collect only $5.2 million in tolls in the first year and $32.7 million a year by 2050.  At that rate it would take several decades to pay off the $2 billion construction costs.  The report also found that 22 percent of drivers would never use a toll road.

June 2017 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit allowing construction of Interstate 73 in South Carolina.  Funding is still lacking for the estimated $4 billion project.


http://www.bredl.org/pdf4/I-73_Timeline.pdf
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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #819 on: April 15, 2020, 05:57:54 PM »

South Carolina has the same problem as Virginia, the very high cost of building I-73.

August 2016 — A study done on making I-73 a toll road in South Carolina found that I-73 would collect only $5.2 million in tolls in the first year and $32.7 million a year by 2050.  At that rate it would take several decades to pay off the $2 billion construction costs.  The report also found that 22 percent of drivers would never use a toll road.

June 2017 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit allowing construction of Interstate 73 in South Carolina.  Funding is still lacking for the estimated $4 billion project.


http://www.bredl.org/pdf4/I-73_Timeline.pdf
Additionally, heavy opposition and continuous lawsuits from RE/T groups such as the SELC, who produced a bogus low-balled cost estimate to "improve" the existing route to "expressway" standards between I-95 and Myrtle Beach. The existing road is a 60 mph 4-lane divided highway. If the goal is a 4-lane interstate highway and it was to follow the existing road, construction would likely cost less, but right of way would be astronomically expensive. As far as I'm aware, the biggest priority for them is completing that segment first, then later on the connecting segment between Rockingham, NC and I-95, which is currently served by a 2-lane roadway.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2020, 06:00:31 PM by sprjus4 »
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sparker

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #820 on: April 16, 2020, 05:19:49 AM »

South Carolina has the same problem as Virginia, the very high cost of building I-73.

August 2016 — A study done on making I-73 a toll road in South Carolina found that I-73 would collect only $5.2 million in tolls in the first year and $32.7 million a year by 2050.  At that rate it would take several decades to pay off the $2 billion construction costs.  The report also found that 22 percent of drivers would never use a toll road.

June 2017 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit allowing construction of Interstate 73 in South Carolina.  Funding is still lacking for the estimated $4 billion project.


http://www.bredl.org/pdf4/I-73_Timeline.pdf
Additionally, heavy opposition and continuous lawsuits from RE/T groups such as the SELC, who produced a bogus low-balled cost estimate to "improve" the existing route to "expressway" standards between I-95 and Myrtle Beach. The existing road is a 60 mph 4-lane divided highway. If the goal is a 4-lane interstate highway and it was to follow the existing road, construction would likely cost less, but right of way would be astronomically expensive. As far as I'm aware, the biggest priority for them is completing that segment first, then later on the connecting segment between Rockingham, NC and I-95, which is currently served by a 2-lane roadway.

Although the idea of making I-73 a direct conduit from the Tri-Cities down to Myrtle Beach has always been a primary goal of coastal promoters, to them Job #1 is getting the route from Myrtle to I-95, which will do a lot to expedite recreational traffic from not only NC population centers but other areas served by I-95 and its feeders.  Initially, there is likely an expectation that the traffic flow from I-95 to Rockingham can at least temporarily be handled by the combination of I-74 and I-95, even with a bit of backtracking.   The independent segment of I-73 NW of I-95 can -- and in all likelihood will -- be developed when the cost of the coastal section has been rationalized to a reasonable degree (if full amortization were the benchmark, the rest of SC's I-73 wouldn't likely ever be built!).       
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VTGoose

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #821 on: April 16, 2020, 10:30:33 AM »


Nov. 14, 2002: Virginians For Appropriate Roads (VAR), a BREDL chapter, has won a battle in the nearly decade-long fight against a new terrain interstate from Roanoke, VA to the North Carolina state line.
VAR efforts and consultation work with Harry Reem, a historic preservation consultant from Arlington, VA, has led to a portion of Southeast Roanoke to be included as eligible for historic designation.  The approved I-73 route would traverse this section.
The working class neighborhood's 1920s-era bungalows and two-story houses, known as Four Squares, qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, the Interior Department said.


I now do recall that VAR did help obtain that historic designation, and that the approved new location alignment, a bonafide urban freeway, in Southeast Roanoke was canceled, and I-73 was moved to the entirety of I-581 and the US-220 Southwest Expressway.

The historic neighborhood designation was in response to the late '50s/early '60s when "urban renewal" was a veiled cover for removing blacks from cities. Using the "urban blight" excuse, neighborhoods were wiped out for highways and other projects. In Roanoke, I-581, the Roanoke Civic Center, and several other projects wiped out viable neighborhoods with thriving businesses whose only issue was that they were owned or run by African-Americans.

Without the historical designation for Southeast Roanoke neighborhoods, the same thing would have been repeated with lower-income people being displaced because someone determined that they were expendable. A possible route from the south could follow Va. 615 though Starkey, but that would put the highway too close to high-end homes in Hunting Hills. Discrimination is still alive and well in the Old Dominion.
 
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cpzilliacus

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #822 on: April 17, 2020, 10:17:11 AM »

The historic neighborhood designation was in response to the late '50s/early '60s when "urban renewal" was a veiled cover for removing blacks from cities. Using the "urban blight" excuse, neighborhoods were wiped out for highways and other projects. In Roanoke, I-581, the Roanoke Civic Center, and several other projects wiped out viable neighborhoods with thriving businesses whose only issue was that they were owned or run by African-Americans.

The late Julius Hobson, Sr., who served as an elected member of the Council of the District of Columbia in its early days after Congress granted the city limited home rule in the early 1970's, correctly referred to this sort of thing as "Negro removal," since that is what it was, perhaps especially in D.C. near the route of I-395 in the Southwest quadrant of town.

Like most of his peers in D.C., Hobson was anti-urban freeway, but in contrast to the late former Mayor-for-Life of the District of Columbia, Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr., Julius Hobson had tremendous integrity.

Without the historical designation for Southeast Roanoke neighborhoods, the same thing would have been repeated with lower-income people being displaced because someone determined that they were expendable. A possible route from the south could follow Va. 615 though Starkey, but that would put the highway too close to high-end homes in Hunting Hills. Discrimination is still alive and well in the Old Dominion.

There have been efforts to get properties along a proposed highway route declared historic for no reason other than shameless NIMBYism.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2020, 10:21:12 AM by cpzilliacus »
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sprjus4

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #823 on: June 10, 2020, 05:43:41 PM »

Back in May 2020, VDOT has revised the preferred alternative of the Martinsville Southern Connector project to connect with the US-220 bypass further west of the Joseph Martin Hwy interchange, a location IMO that is more logical and would have less right-of-way impact. It also opens up the possibility to have continuity between the US-220 bypass north and the new Martinsville Southern Connector south.

This new routing will be evaluated in the Final EIS projected to be complete by October 2020.



https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/resources/Salem/Martinsville-Connector/Route_220_MAY_2020_Newsletter_FINAL.pdf
https://www.virginiadot.org/Projects/Salem/asset_upload_file57_143753.pdf

I would hope that the following changes occur in the Final EIS from the Draft EIS -
- Further west tie in
- Continuity between Martinsville Southern Connector with traffic continuing on US-58 East and vice versa having to exit/enter to/from the right.
- Design speed of 70 mph or 75 mph as opposed to 60 mph to permit a posted 70 mph speed limit.

If this highway is to conceptually become apart of I-73 in the future, these features would be standard on a rural interstate facility, and even though the project is technically an independent arterial bypass, it should be designed to be apart of an I-73 that follows MSC and the existing US-220 bypass north.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2020, 05:46:53 PM by sprjus4 »
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sparker

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Re: I-73 in VA
« Reply #824 on: June 10, 2020, 09:54:45 PM »

Back in May 2020, VDOT has revised the preferred alternative of the Martinsville Southern Connector project to connect with the US-220 bypass further west of the Joseph Martin Hwy interchange, a location IMO that is more logical and would have less right-of-way impact. It also opens up the possibility to have continuity between the US-220 bypass north and the new Martinsville Southern Connector south.

This new routing will be evaluated in the Final EIS projected to be complete by October 2020.



https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/resources/Salem/Martinsville-Connector/Route_220_MAY_2020_Newsletter_FINAL.pdf
https://www.virginiadot.org/Projects/Salem/asset_upload_file57_143753.pdf

I would hope that the following changes occur in the Final EIS from the Draft EIS -
- Further west tie in
- Continuity between Martinsville Southern Connector with traffic continuing on US-58 East and vice versa having to exit/enter to/from the right.
- Design speed of 70 mph or 75 mph as opposed to 60 mph to permit a posted 70 mph speed limit.

If this highway is to conceptually become apart of I-73 in the future, these features would be standard on a rural interstate facility, and even though the project is technically an independent arterial bypass, it should be designed to be apart of an I-73 that follows MSC and the existing US-220 bypass north.

Question:  was the original interchange at Joseph Martin Blvd. intended to be a full system/free-flowing interchange, or simply an upgrade of the existing facility, retaining signals, etc.?  From the view of the new location, there's plenty of room between the bypass carriageways to put ramps and/or flyovers -- i.e., free flowing of some sort -- although the terrain looks a bit challenging.  Perhaps that's what the location change was aiming for -- a little more freedom from existing development such as found at the original site.     
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