# Environmental Impact Statement: Roanoke, Franklin and Henry Counties, Virginia

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A97-32861

## Record

- **Collection:** Federal Register
- **Document type:** Notice
- **Published:** December 17, 1997
- **Citation:** 62 FR 66173

## Text

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Environmental Impact Statement: Roanoke, Franklin and Henry
Counties, Virginia

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this
notice to advise the public that a draft environmental impact statement
will be prepared for a proposed highway project in the counties of
Roanoke, Franklin and Henry in Virginia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Turner, Planning and Environment
Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration, The Dale Building,
Suite 205, 1504 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, Virginia 23229, Telephone
804-281-5111.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FHWA, in cooperation with the Virginia
Department of Transportation (VDOT), will prepare an Environment Impact
Statement (EIS) to identify a location for a future Interstate (I-73)
in Roanoke, Franklin and Henry counties, Virginia. The project would
involve the location an construction of a new four-lane interstate
facility, interchanges, and redesign and construction of local access
roads and roadway systems between Roanoke, Virginia to a point south of
Martinsville, Virginia in the vicinity of the Virginia/North Carolina
border for a total distance of approximately 70 miles.
Improvements to the corridor are considered necessary to provide
for existing and future traffic demand, to reduce accidents and improve
safety in the existing U.S. Route 220 corridor, and to provide a
portion of new interstate in accordance with the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) passed by the United States
Congress in 1991. ISTEA identified I-73 as a highway corridor of
national significance and directed the corridor be included on the
National Highway System. Congress defined I-73 as a north-south
corridor from Charleston, South Carolina to Detroit, Michigan that
would pass through Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Portsmouth, Ohio, and
Cincinnati, Ohio. Also included in the this proposal is the redesign
and reconstruction of affected service roads and local access,
including the identification of potential interchange locations along
the corridor. Alternatives under consideration include: (1) taking no
action (no build); (2) transportation system management (improvement to
the existing roadway network) and/or intelligent transportation system
methods and techniques; (3) widening the existing U.S. 220 highway to a
four-lane, limited access highway; and (4) construction of a new four-
lane, limited access highway on new location.
Letters describing the proposed action and soliciting comments will
be sent to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, private
organizations, and citizens who have previously expressed or are known
to have an interest in this proposal. A series of public meetings will
be held between now and December 1999. In addition, public hearings
will be held. Public notices will be given of the time and place of the
meetings and hearings. The draft EIS will be available for public and
agency review and comment prior to the public hearings.
To ensure that the full range of issues related to this proposed
action are addressed and all significant issues are identified,
comments and suggestions are invited from all interested parties.
Comments or questions concerning the proposed action and the draft EIS
should be directed to the FHWA at the address provided above.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205,
Highway Planning

[[Page 66174]]

and Construction. The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372
regarding intergovernmental consultation on Federal programs and
activities apply to this proposed action.)

Issued On: December 8, 1997.
Edward S. Sundra,
Environmental/Air Quality Engineer, Richmond, Virginia.
[FR Doc. 97-32861 Filed 12-16-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-M

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3A97-32861. Public record. Not legal advice.