THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 43 lines
Think of South Hampton Roads as five ripening tomatoes suspended from two life-sustaining vines: the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial and Hampton Roads bridge-tunnels.
The tomatoes are growing, but the vines aren't.
Three years into a $6 million traffic study, it appears that Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk will need a third vine.
Staff writer Debbie Messina reported Friday, ``Even if 12 to 14 lanes were added to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel by 2015, studies show there still would be gridlock during peak hours.
Our options probably are to build a third crossing between North and South Hampton Roads or to wither on the two vines. The second option, of course, is unacceptable.
The current study proposes that the third crossing carry two lanes in each direction, plus a lane in each direction for a light-rail system or high-occupancy vehicles.
The selection of the third-crossing site and type is expected to be made next summer. It will be based on costs, funding method, environmental impact, public sentiment and effectiveness at reducing congestion, said Larry Ricks, Virginia Department of Transportation project manager and chair of the Hampton Roads Crossing Study Committee. The final selection will be made by that committee, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
The cost is estimated at $1.3 billion to $3.3 billion. ``Billion'' is a word normally associated with national programs, not local ones. In fact, the cost of another water crossing roughly equals the region's entire highway-construction budget for the next 20 years, said Philip A. Shucet, vice president of Michael Bakes Jr. Inc., the consulting group conducting the third-crossing study.
When the word ``billion'' arises in a discussion of highway costs, the word ``tolls'' probably is not far behind, especially with federal highway money drying up.
But it is better to pay tolls than to wither on the vine. Onward with the study. A third crossing seems inevitable. by CNB