ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 8, 1996 TAG: 9601100088
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT D. JAMES
I AM VERY concerned about false information that is being propagated about the ``smart road.'' As a member of the smart-road research team, I would like to respond to some of the erroneous statements that have been made.
How much time will be saved traveling to Roanoke using the smart road?
The time saved will be related to a shorter distance, higher average speed and absence of traffic lights. The smart-road path is almost 4.5 miles shorter, saving 6.75 minutes. The average speed on the smart road will be almost 50 percent higher, reducing the trip time by almost 3 minutes.
The largest variable is traffic-light delay. During peak traffic times, the delay is much longer than nonpeak delays. Delays of two minutes per traffic signal are possible during peak traffic times. During nonpeak times, 30 seconds per signal are reasonable. This adds five minutes during nonpeak times, and as much as 22 minutes during peak traffic. Therefore, a rough estimate of the time savings is 14.75 minutes for nonpeak travel time and 31.75 during peak time.
Why can't the 3A route be used for the smart-road research?
Intelligent transportation research is not limited to the smart road. We plan to use all the local highways and arterials for research, including 3A. However, to do controlled testing we have specially designed the smart road to be a versatile test bed for infrastructure technology and a test track for vehicle-based technology. Some of these design features include: A control center along the road for data collection and monitoring. Parallel redundant lanes, extra-wide full-depth shoulders and crossovers for rerouting traffic for special testing, and sensor installation and maintenance. Water, communications and power along the road for testing, etc. A steep 6 percent grade for heavy-vehicle testing. High-speed entrance ramps.
The 3A route could not provide all these features. Those that could be provided would require additional right of way that might require the displacement of a number of additional businesses and homes along the 3A route. In addition, 3A would have to be totally redesigned to handle the additional traffic the smart road is currently planned to accommodate. This would delay the building of 3A by two years.
Where is the funding for the smart road?
No, the smart road will not be two miles of road going nowhere. The smart road is at the same point in its funding-allocation process as route 3A. However, the smart road has received some advance funding to build the first two miles ahead of the remainder of the road. The first two miles are fully funded, and are planned for completion in early 1998.
The remainder of the road is in the state's six-year plan and should be completed around the year 1999 or 2000. At this point the road will be open to the public. Testing will continue on both the lanes with traffic, and on special, parallel testing lanes. There is no indication that the smart road or 3A will experience any funding problems as they advance through the normal funding process.
How will the smart road benefit the local economy?
If anything, the estimates of $100 million in research funding and $300 million in economic activity are very conservative. Virginia Tech's Center for Transportation Research is one of the fastest growing units within the university. In five years, it has gone from $800,000 per year to about $3.5 million a year in funding. Much of this has been supported by the position of authority we have taken in ITS research due to the high visibility of the smart road.
The completion of the smart road will open a wide range of research opportunities that we have spent years positioning ourselves to achieve. Killing the smart road would severely impact our current and future funding. Even without any growth in funding, the research at the CTR alone will contribute $70 million over the next 20 years. However, the growth in ITS and our position as a research center of excellence makes future growth very likely.
Another source of growth will be due to spin-off companies, created on the basis of the technologies being developed. We are working with local manufacturers on a number of new products that can bring hundreds of millions of income to this region. Also, every dollar that comes into the region reproduces itself many times. For instance, with my salary I decided to invest some of my income into starting up a side business. Now I employ four local residents in this business to carry out the day-to-day operations while I work on the smart road. The loss of the smart road might make me have to shut down my business and move my family away from the Blacksburg area.
I have seen these questions and others presented many times as though they had no answers. I wish those having the questions would take the time to find out what the answers are rather than using questions as a form of accusation.
Those of us working on the smart road are very concerned with the environment and the continued confiscation of rural land for road construction. That is exactly why we are working on the technologies that will make more efficient use of existing roads and make travel cleaner. However, to get to that point we need special testing facilities to make these technologies safe and cost-effective. If the smart road is not built in Blacksburg, it will be built somewhere, and the taxes we pay will go with it. I would rather see the high-salary, high-tech jobs come to our area to raise Blacksburg's standard of living and allow us to get back some of the taxes we are all paying.
Robert D. James, of Blacksburg, is a member of the smart-road research team.
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