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July 7, 2005
Routes Outlined for Interstates 73, 74 in Virginia, West Virginia
by William Paine
Bluefield News Network Writer
Bluefield, WV (BNN) –After almost four years of intensive environmental study and a public participation program sponsored by the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Commonwealth Transportation Board(CTB) voted to build the future Interstate 73 from Roanoke to North Carolina. The Transportation board will now send this proposal to the Federal Highway Administration for approval.
The proposed Interstate 73 will extend from South Carolina to the Canadian border. According to the current plan, I–73 will enter West Virginia at Glen Lyn and follow Route 460 where it will combine with the proposed route of Interstate 74 at Bluefield. If proposals for Interstates 73 and 74 remain constant, this combined interstate will extend from Bluefield to Huntington as it passes through McDowell and Mingo counties.
This 66.5 mile section of Interstate 73 will run from Roanoke through Franklin and Henry Counties before exiting North Carolina just east of Martinsville.
Cost of this phase of the project is estimated to be approximately one and a quarter billion dollars.
