RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Chuck Lionberger (540) 387-5493 saleminfo@VDOT.Virginia.gov Jason Bond 540-387-5250

SAL-06-69 Dec. 6, 2006

VDOT SIGNS INTERSTATE 73 FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Document to be submitted to FHWA for review

The Virginia Department of Transportation has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Interstate 73. The document was signed Nov. 30 by VDOT Chief Engineer Malcolm T. Kerley, P.E., and Dec. 1 by the Federal Highway Administration’s Virginia Division Administrator Roberto Fonseca-Martinez.

FHWA is reviewing the document for a possible Record of Decision, which could come by March 2007. Once a Record of Decision has been issued, work can begin to design the roadway, depending on the availability of funding.

A Record of Decision is the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process that includes public involvement and considers possible environmental impacts of transportation projects.

This process for I-73 began December 1993 with a feasibility study. VDOT held a series of initial public information meetings in 1994 and began work on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in 1997. Additional public meetings took place in 1998. The DEIS was completed in November 2000. During a formal comment period in December 2000, public hearings were held to gather input on the DEIS. The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) selected a “build” option in mid-2001. VDOT evaluated input received during the DEIS comment period before beginning work to complete the FEIS for the corridor selected by the CTB.

In the coming weeks, copies of the FEIS will be available for public viewing at libraries along the route for the proposed interstate. The public also will be able to download the entire document from the I-73 Web site at http://www.i73info.com. CDs of the FEIS will be available at VDOT’s Salem District Office as well as VDOT residency offices in Salem, Rocky Mount and Martinsville.

Currently, about $13.3 million, including about $8.8 million in federal earmarks, has been allocated in VDOT’s Six-Year Improvement Program for design and construction of the interstate. Current estimates indicate designing the entire, new 70-mile roadway could cost approximately $330 million while construction costs could top nearly $4 billion. VDOT has not developed nor has the CTB approved a formal funding and construction schedule to build I-73.

“This is a very important step in the development of I-73, and the culmination of more than ten years of studies, public input and analysis” said Kerley. “Of course, present resources are insufficient to substantially advance this project,” Kerley added.

I-73 was identified by the U.S. Congress as a high priority corridor in the federal transportation funding bill of 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act (ISTEA). It was defined as a north-south corridor from north of Detroit to Charleston, S.C.


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