Virginia's portion of the Interstate 73 project is dead following the Commonwealth Transportation Board's vote in Roanoke in late September to end the oft-discussed but never appropriated chapter in the state's highway infrastructure planning.
Lawmakers are now hoping the decision could give way to renewed support for another two-pronged project — one that would offer upgrades to the existing U.S. Highway 220 and effectively link Martinsville, Va. to the economic hub of Greensboro, N.C. through the construction of 8 mi. of new roadway.
State Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, said that that project, known colloquially as the Southern Connector, would be much more reasonable in terms of cost — about $745 million to complete — compared to billions of dollars for Virginia's portion of I-73.
"It's hard under the SMART scale that Virginia operates under for us to get that kind of funding for I-73," Stanley told Cardinal News, an online news site that serves Southwest and Southside Virginia.
The SMART scale is a formula used by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and lawmakers to determine which critical infrastructure projects can be addressed with limited tax dollars.
Trip Pollard, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), based in Charlottesville, said that he also supports the transportation board's decision to put an end to Virginia's involvement in the I-73 project and is in favor of efforts to upgrade existing parts of U.S. 220.
However, while Pollard and the SELC support one aspect of the two-pronged Southern Connector project, they have raised concerns regarding the social and environmental impact of building the new 8-mi. stretch of road needed to connect Martinsville to the North Carolina border.
Thirty Years of Discussion, But Zero Dollars Allocated
Talks concerning the I-73 project first began about three decades ago, Cardinal News noted Sept. 25. It would have provided upgrades to existing infrastructure, or built new roads altogether, to connect Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
Since then, the cost to update existing roads and build new ones to create I-73 has fallen to each state. Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio had made progress on their parts of the project, while Virginia's portion languished without any money being allocated. If funding had been provided,
improvements to roads that connected Roanoke to the North Carolina border would have been made, the interstate's supports said.
Although the project has been scrapped, Stanley argued, if VDOT were to decide to later decide to complete the Southern Connector, it could still become I-73 in the future.
"If we start out by reasonably saying we need the Southern Connector to connect Southside Virginia and the [U.S. Highway] 58 bypass to three deep-water ports in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and the cost is not prohibitive, I think that's the way to go," he added. "I see us being more realistic now, [since] I-73 is cost prohibitive."
Support Building for U.S. 220, Although Questions Remain
Virginia House Delegate Wren Williams, R-Patrick County, also threw his support behind the Commonwealth Transportation Board's decision to rescind I-73 and welcomed the Southern Connector project as a viable alternative.
"I have been a massive proponent of construction projects to complete the final section of [U.S.] 58 and connect Southwest and Southside [Virginia] to the coast," he said in a Sept. 23 statement. "All options need to be explored to ensure that our region has the resources necessary to bring opportunity and investments into our communities."
The SELC, however, issued a stark rebuke against the construction of the new road needed to complete the Southern Connector project after VDOT issued its report in July 2021 on the environmental impact for that portion of the project.
In a November 2021 letter to VDOT, Pollard and the SELC wrote that building the short stretch of connector road through undeveloped land south of Martinsville would cause destruction to natural resources, relocate many homes, and induce further development in the area. Additionally, he wrote, it could increase traffic and vehicle emissions.
A study to determine the cost and environmental impact of operational improvements and upgrades to U.S. 220 is due to reach the Virginia General Assembly later this year. Both Williams and Stanley said they "absolutely" support the allocation of state funds to complete the Southern Connector project.
"I put the budget amendment in every year to pay for that, and it's not made it in the budget yet," Stanley told Cardinal News. "So, our localities have to think creatively, how we get this built. It's going to take, I think, a combination of state money, maybe some federal money, and some local money."
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