Free Republic

MARTINSVILLE-How do you build Interstate 73? How would you expand U.S. 220 in either direction? The Virginia Department of Transportation is open for suggestions, for these or any other road projects in the commonwealth. To do that, the department is holding a series of “hack-a-thon” events throughout the commonwealth, setting up one in each region. For Martinsville and Henry County, the regional meeting will be this Friday and Saturday at CoLab Roanoke, 1327 Grandin Road SW. “Data and technology are changing how we do business,” saidVDOT Chief Deputy Commissioner Rob Cary in a statement. “These hackathons are opportunities for innovators...

WASHINGTON By Washington standards, it shouldn’t be that hard to get money for Interstate 73, a decades-in-the-making, $2 billion project to connect 75 miles of road from the North Carolina border to the tourist hub of South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach. But Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., the local congressman and the road’s key backer, is struggling to get the project going. He does have support from his state’s two U.S. senators. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., recently called the interstate the second most important economic priority for South Carolina behind dredging the Charleston Harbor. Al Simpson, a well-connected Washington lobbyist who was...

BLUEFIELD — Extending the King Coal Highway’s “bridge to nowhere” in Bluefield to the Airport Road area is still on track for next year. Del. Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer County, said the project remains on the Department of Highways six-year plan for a 2019 start. “Dirt should be moved next spring (2019),” he said. “It will be built when it is supposed to. It’s been part of the six-year plan and was not scheduled until next spring.” The bridge, which connects to Rt. 460 and then to Interstate 77, was finished almost 10 years ago but funding for the highway has...

Columbia, SC Once again, a group of obstructionists who like to call themselves environmentalists is trying to steal opportunities away from South Carolina. The Coastal Conservation League and Southern Environmental Law Center filed a suit in federal court a week before Christmas to halt the construction of Interstate 73, highlighting their continued disregard for the public good. These groups say the environmental impact of I-73 is too high. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The federal government requires that any new highway be constructed along the least environmentally impactful route. Fifteen state and federal agencies have spent 16 years...

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) - The South Carolina leg of a proposed interstate that would end on the Grand Strand may benefit from President Trump's infrastructure plan. Some leaders say Interstate 73 construction could be approved sooner, but paying for the highway could change. The president's plan says the federal government would pay for 20 percent of a project, with more costs shifted towards local governments, the private sector and people. That means if I-73 is built, it will likely include tolls. "I think the odds for I-73 are looking better and better," says Brad Dean, president and CEO of...

MYRTLE BEACH — Environmental groups are challenging the federal permits that allow construction of Interstate 73, a project that is the longtime dream of Grand Strand tourism officials. The lawsuit was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League. It claims the Army Corps of Engineers relied on an outdated environmental study and did not consider alternatives to I-73 as it issued permits this June to begin work on the road, therefore violating federal law. Catherine Wannamaker, an attorney for the SELC, said that the agencies involved in issuing the permits were stuck on...

Construction of Interstate 73 to Myrtle Beach has widespread support among key players in Washington, D.C., and is favored for financing when President Trump introduces an infrastructure package to Congress, according to U.S. Rep. Tom Rice. “The president has said he wants an infrastructure package, and we want to make sure that we are on the radar at the front of the line,” Rice told The Sun News in an interview this week. Rice says he’s held numerous meetings to help secure the $2.4 billion needed with top Trump administration officials, including D.J. Gribbin, special assistant to the president for...

When it comes to spending and infrastructure, one of South Carolina’s great white whales rose from the deep with news last week that the Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit to begin work on the South Carolina leg of I-73. Ultimately, the interstate highway could take motorists from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula straight down to Myrtle Beach.The permit covers the whole state length, slicing across its northeastern corner, starting near Bennettsville. Construction could begin within two years, supporters say, on a project first contemplated in 1982.The southern half alone, linking I-95 to the Conway Bypass, is estimated to cost more...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Frank Wagner visited Roanoke Friday to pitch his campaign message of improving transportation infrastructure in order to create more jobs across Virginia.At a Roanoke County Republican Committee luncheon, Wagner, a GOP state senator from Virginia Beach, discussed his proposal to raise the gas tax for projects like widening Interstate 81 and building Interstate 73 and the Coalfields Expressway.Yes, he’s a rare Republican calling for a tax increase. He understands the irony. Building up major pathways in and out of Southwest Virginia will improve the business climate, he said.In the economically depressed Southside region , adding broadband and...

On Tuesday, the Henry County Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 to renew the county’s contract with Alcalde and Fay LLC, which advocates for Interstate 73 on the state and federal level on the county’s behalf. Often when there is a split vote, it is tempting to pick a side. In this case, however, I agree with both sides. There are strong arguments for renewing the contract, and there are strong arguments against renewing the contract, but ultimately, the board made the appropriate call. The lone dissenting vote came from Collinsville District Supervisor Joe Bryant, who argued that he didn’t believe...

AGENCY LOBBYING HARD FOR MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BOONDOGGLE South Carolina’s corrupt transportation “leaders” still desperately want to foist Interstate 73 on dirt poor Palmetto State taxpayers … even as government’s embarrassing inability to do basic maintenance continues to be on display all over the state.How desperate are our powerful “roads czars” to get this Interstate built? Let’s recap …First, they’ve spent more than $100 million on an interchange for the highway (even though it’s not clear if it will ever be built).Next they’ve proposed spending millions more on wetlands mitigation related to the road (again, even though it’s not clear if...

There’s a famous old fable known as “Belling the Cat.” For those who haven’t heard it, it goes like this: A bunch of mice are threatened by a vicious cat, and they call a council to figure out how to solve the problem. One mouse proposes that they place a bell around the cat’s neck. That way, they’ll hear the cat approaching and have plenty of time to run and hide. The mice applaud the plan. They love the plan. It’s a great plan. One mouse asks who’s going to volunteer to place the bell around the cat’s neck. Suddenly,...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A member of the state Senate is upset the a new four-lane highway project planned for southern West Virginia has been able to jump ahead of some other longstanding road projects. Sen. Bob Plymale (D-Wayne) questioned state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox on the sudden rise of the Hobet project during a legislative interim committee Monday at the state capitol. The 2.6 mile Hobet highway will take traffic from the U.S. Route 119-Route 3 intersection in Boone County up to the former Hobet mountaintop removal mining site which Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and others hope will be a...

Legislation moving through the state House and Senate would require that environmental groups using the legal system to object to road construction provide a sound basis for their claim before those projects are halted. Lawmakers supporting the bill, which includes almost all of the Horry County House delegation, say the legislation is needed to prevent the process from being abused to easily block road projects, including International Drive. “I started talking to folks on the coast, and they told me how any individual can just file an automatic stay against a project to slow it down for whatever reason,” said...

For a few days this week, supporters of the long-promised and long-delayed Interstate 73 had a victory worth rejoicing. The news that the state Transportation Commission had agreed to build the interchange with Interstate 95 and five miles of I-73 toward U.S. 501 seemed the first step in finally seeing asphalt on the ground in South Carolina after decades of promises and lobbying. But then came the EPA. As reported this week, the road would destroy an unusually large amount of wetlands - about 272 acres - as it cuts through the Pee Dee region of eastern South Carolina. That...

Funding next step for I-73 project While much has happened in the challenge to move Interstate 73 from a proposed highway to actual pavement, much is left to do. And a lot could happen toward that end in 2005. Major news in 2005 regarding the interstate from Myrtle Beach to Michigan will be the ongoing environmental impact study in South Carolina. So far, $6.5 million - $1 million in state funds, the rest in federal funds - has been approved to complete an initial environmental document. The study is scheduled to be completed in the fourth-quarter of 2006, Rep. Alan...