RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Brenda Waters 276-669-9999 bristolinfo@VirginiaDOT.org Michelle Earl 276-669-9901

BRIS-230 Oct. 9, 2003

Virginia Transportation Program Meeting: Public invited to comment on Six-Year Improvement Program on Tuesday, October 21, 2003 at 5 p.m. at Southwest Virginia Community College near Claypool Hill

TAZEWELL COUNTY, Va. – Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board will hold its annual public hearing on transportation priorities in the Bristol Transportation District on Tuesday, October 21 beginning at 5 p.m. at Southwest Virginia Community College. The college is located on Route 19 near the Tazewell/Russell County line.

The purpose of the meeting is to receive the public’s comments about which essential rail, public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian, and interstate and primary highway projects should be included in the FY2005-2010 Six-Year Improvement Program for the 12-county Bristol transportation district, which serves Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe counties and the cities of Bristol and Norton.

By shifting the Six-Year Improvement Program update hearing to the fall instead of in the spring, transportation board members will have more time to evaluate the public’s input on priorities before acting on them by next May. The fall timeframe also coincides with the update of secondary road plans and allows more time for coordination with metropolitan planning organizations, county boards and other agencies.

Under a new format, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. the public will have an opportunity to look at a video, maps, displays and other materials about the six-year plan statewide and in the 12-County Bristol District. During this first session, individuals who are unable to stay for the formal presentation may provide their written or oral comments on the six-year plan.

Beginning at 7 p.m., the traditional formal presentation session will take place, with speakers called upon in the order they signed up to speak.

For special assistance or more information, call 804-786-8918 (TTY users, call 711).

(Projects on the secondary road system, roads numbered 600 and above, are considered in separate hearings held by the county board of supervisors and the VDOT resident engineer for the county.) ###