DATE: Wednesday, April 30, 1997             TAG: 9704300488

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   38 lines

NEW ROUTE FOR U.S. 17 TONIGHT'S TOPIC

Officials choosing a location for a bigger, better U.S. Route 17 will gather tonight to answer residents' questions about how they will make their decision - one that could impact dozens of residents' homes and the future of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

The Virginia Department of Transportation, which will choose a new location for the road that connects Virginia with North Carolina along the eastern edge of the refuge, suggested during a public hearing two basic routes that are only a mile or two apart geographically, but worlds apart in their physical and emotional impact.

One route would widen West Road to the east of the current Route 17, affecting more than 80 properties. The second calls for expanding the existing road, but that would have serious effects on wetlands, recovering wildlife species, historic homes and the refuge, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the permits necessary for the work.

The road is over its capacity and dangerous, a VDOT official has said. And because of the lesser costs and number of homes condemned, expanding the existing thoroughfare was preferred. A negative reaction from several federal agencies, however, caused the transportation office to retreat from that opinion. No decision has been made.

Gene Waters, president of the Chesapeake Council of Civic Organizations, who planned the event, said it will be the first time all the federal, state and local agencies involved will be available at the same time to answer questions.

``We found out from citizen comments that there was a lot of information they haven't heard,'' he said. ``The major accomplishment will be that the residents will be informed, and the major players will be informed as to what the citizens are thinking. If everyone is in one room, both can be accomplished.'' KEYWORDS: U.S. ROUTE 17

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