Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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Friday, September 15, 2006
Securing approval of the proposed Interstate 73 is the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce’s top legislative priority this fiscal year.
In a unanimous vote Thursday, the chamber’s board approved both federal and state legislative agendas that list I-73 as a main initiative.
State lawmakers still need to hear support for I-73 from area residents and businesses to convince the federal government to fund the highway, said board member Charlie Mattox.
“Our legislators are not getting much pressure from constituents” to work to improve the state’s highway network, Mattox said, based on information that he heard at a Virginia Chamber of Commerce meeting last week.
He urged area residents to contact lawmakers and voice support for I-73.
Interstate 73’s route would stretch through Henry County to the North Carolina line, mostly along the U.S. 220 corridor. Economic developers have said the road should help the county and city attract new business and industry.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will have a meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 17 in Salem to learn about highway needs statewide. The meeting should be a good time to reiterate the need for I-73, according to George Lester, the chamber board’s immediate past chairman and a long-time supporter of I-73 in this area.
Lester said he is trying to organize a delegation to attend the meeting.
Chamber President Kim Adkins recently went to Washington and talked to Virginia congressmen about I-73.
She found out that VDOT signed a “programmatic agreement” — essentially a memorandum of understanding — about I-73 that was sent to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which also signed it, she said.
The FHWA has sent the agreement to the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service (which manages the Blue Ridge Parkway) and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, all of which are required to sign it, Adkins said.
State Sen. W. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Ridgeway, has persuaded the historic resources department to sign the agreement, Adkins said. U.S. Sens. John Warner and George Allen, as well as Fifth District U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Rocky Mount, are trying to persuade the other two to sign it, she added.
The FHWA also is trying to get the signatures of Roanoke, Roanoke County and Virginians for Appropriate Roads, but those are not required, she said.
All of the signatories have 30 days to sign. If any required signatures are not obtained, the FHWA will not be able to approve I-73 and revisions will have to be made to an environmental impact statement, Adkins said.
The programmatic agreement then will have to be recirculated among the signatories, she said.
Officials have said they hope the FHWA will issue its record of decision on I-73 by the end of this year.
The legislative agendas indicate the chamber also supports federal and state funds for the New College Institute (NCI).
Barry Dorsey, NCI’s president, said that Goode has placed $250,000 in the House budget for the institute.
“We’ll see what happens” — if those funds will stay intact — when the budget goes to the Senate, he said.
The federal agenda seeks funds for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study Philpott Lake to see if changes are needed in the dam’s operations.
One concern cited by Adkins is flow in the Smith River and how, as part of efforts to increase tourism at the lake, it might affect fishing.
She referred questions to Henry County Administrator Benny Summerlin, who said “you wouldn’t want to make any changes” in the river flow that would hurt fish. That could hurt tourism, he indicated.
A study probably would cost millions of dollars, Adkins said. She could not be more specific.
The legislative agendas are designed to show what the chamber will expend its resources on this fiscal year, Adkins said.
In another matter Thursday, the chamber board endorsed a joint statement on transportation needs prepared by the state chamber of commerce and 15 other organizations statewide.
Virginia has a transportation infrastructure crisis in some regions, and that crisis threatens the state’s economy and quality of life, the statement says.
State officials must “act now, in concert and with a spirit of compromise” to improve Virginia’s network of roads “or face the reality of shrinking voter confidence and economic uncertainty,” it says.
Adkins said the chamber will communicate that message to local lawmakers and VDOT officials. |
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