THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160455
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
After repeatedly warning that it would reject the Southeastern Expressway, the City Council on Tuesday shelved a proposed resolution opposing the planned 20-mile highway, designed to connect Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
At the session's outset, Mayor William E. Ward quashed expectations for a City Council discussion of the half-billion dollar project when he announced that the issue would be postponed until next week.
``It would be premature to turn it down before the citizens get a chance to hear it and voice their concerns,'' said Vice Mayor Arthur L. Dwyer.
A public hearing on the expressway has been scheduled by the state for Monday. Dwyer said any council action beforehand might undermine the process of gaining citizen input on a public decision.
``I assume they don't support it,'' Dwyer said before the session. ``I've pretty much made up my mind, but I don't want to shortchange the process of letting citizens speak.''
But Dwyer said little could offset increasing opposition to the project among city officials.
Allocating money to the expressway - far more than the city has paid for any other project - would waste funds needed to expand the city's major arteries, such as Routes 17 and 168, officials say.
``Quite frankly, I think it's a dead duck at this point, and the council doesn't seem to be divided,'' Dwyer said. by CNB