ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 23, 1997 TAG: 9701230005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FINCASTLE
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
By now, Dee Dee Bruce is accustomed to getting bad news from state transportation officials about the deteriorating bridge over the James River at Eagle Rock that she has fought for years to save.
A little settlement like Eagle Rock in a remote part of a county that is perhaps a bit too far from the state power structure, she said, just gets no respect.
But the latest word from Richmond sounded familiar. Very, very familiar.
Secretary of Transportation Robert Martinez sent a letter to Botetourt County Administrator Jerry Burgess dated Jan.8 saying the bridge would be closed and outlining his reasons for the closing.
When Bruce saw that letter, then looked at a letter she got from Transportation Department Commissioner David Gehr in early August, the similarity was obvious. And it wasn't just that it was the same bad news.
"This is the exact same letter," she exclaimed.
Well, not exactly the same. The first two paragraphs of Martinez' letter are different, but the remaining seven paragraphs - nearly two pages - are almost identical, including the key statement by both men that "I have decided to close and remove the Route 43-Y bridge."
It's not what you'd call personal service, Bruce said. She has met with Martinez once to explain the importance of the bridge to her village in terms of commerce, and to rescue workers in terms of time. Without the bridge, ambulances will take an extra four minutes to get to calls south of Eagle Rock. What little commerce is left in Eagle Rock will probably dry up, she said.
"It just confirms in my mind that we are in the wrong part of the state and the wrong part of the county," Bruce said.
Gehr's was no "thank you for your interest" form letter, either. It outlined in detail the history of the bridge and his reasons for deciding to remove it.
And if both men can say they have personally decided to tear down the bridge, Bruce wondered, just who really has the power to do it?
Transportation officials could not be reached for comment.
On the upside, both letters say it will take six months to a year to come up with plans to remove the bridge. The year Gehr gave the bridge would be up seven months from now. Martinez' year won't be up until January 1998.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB