
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 6, 1992                   TAG: 9203060281
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BEN BEAGLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`X' MARKS THE SPOT WHERE AERIAL PICTURE WILL BE TAKEN

If you live in certain parts of Roanoke, Montgomery or Botetourt counties, don't take a whiff of your spouse's breath when he or she tells you somebody's put a big white cross in the pasture.

He or she will be sober - and you also don't have to worry about one of those weird groups planning a rally on your property.

It's the state Transportation Department marking routes for aerial photography that will be done before mid-March.

Laura Bullock, spokeswoman for the department, said she hasn't heard of anybody getting excited about finding one of the crosses. But, she said, "That's a logical assumption."

She said she figures people who have seen the crosses "never in their dreams" imagine what they are.

The crosses will be strewn along the route recently chosen for the proposed Blacksburg-Roanoke "smart road" connector in Montgomery County. People who will have crosses put on their property along the route in the Ellett Valley will get letters explaining why they are there - thus possibly avoiding domestic distrust.

The department says Jan. 1 through March 31 is the best time for aerial photography: There are no leaves on the trees, and the angle of the sun is just right for keeping shadows to a minimum.

Aerial photography has to be done at a certain time of year or delayed until next year, said Fred Altizer Jr., administrator for the department's Salem District.

However, placing the crosses along the "smart road" route doesn't mean that plans will be drawn up immediately, Altizer said. "There's no schedule for that at this time."

The photos will be used to plan the road and other projects.

Crosses also will appear along the new route for the U.S. 460 bypass between Christiansburg and Blacksburg.

Also flagged will be 2.3 miles of U.S. 221 in Roanoke County, where the road will be four-laned from a recently finished section near Bridlewood to Virginia 752.

The Interstate 81 corridor through the three counties also will be flagged and photographed to update topographical maps and record changes along the interstate.

by CNB