ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995                   TAG: 9511200030
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SENATE PASSES I-73 FUNDING BILL

A National Highway System bill that authorizes construction of proposed Interstate 73 was voted out of conference committee this week and approved by the U.S. Senate by an 80-16 vote on Friday.

The bill lacks only the House of Representatives' final approval and President Clinton's signature to become law. Its passage will release $6.5 billion annually to the states, including $150 million to Virginia, for use on the nation's newly designated national highway system - a 160,955-mile system of high-priority roads.

Proposed I-73, which will run from Michigan to Charleston, S.C., will be part of the national highway system if the legislation becomes law.

In Virginia, I-73 will run from Bluefield along the path of U.S. 460 to Blacksburg, follow the proposed``smart'' road and Interstates 81 and 581 from there to Roanoke, from where it will generally trace the route of U.S. 220 to the North Carolina line.

The Roanoke route for the road won out over several other proposals, including one that would have taken it along existing I-77 through Wytheville. Supporters of the Roanoke route said it would provide the most economic benefit to Virginia and particularly the Martinsville area, which is now not served by an interstate highway.

None of the National Highway System money is designated specifically for I-73. It will be up to Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board to decide when and if to fund the proposed road.

After the Senate vote, Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., said the money provided Virginia by the bill is an investment in the state's infrastructure that is necessary for the economy and a "wise use of scarce federal funds." Robb praised the leadership of Sen. John Warner, R-Va., in getting the bill passed. Warner is chairman of a Senate subcommittee that oversaw the legislation.

According to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, the Highway Bill conference report also includes funding for a feasibility study for a proposed east-west highway that would run from Norfolk to Los Angeles. That road would enter Virginia near Covington and pass near Lynchburg, which now has no interstate.

An aide to Goodlatte said the House could vote on the National Highway System bill today or early next week. 


 by CNB