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Maryland could go east with its bypass while Virginia sticks with its proposed western route. “I want to be careful in my terminology.” What, is under consideration is not another beltway but “a by-pass or bypasses,” she said, stressing the plural. “We DONT oppose 301,” she emphasized, adding that the eastern and western routes “are not' mutually exclusive.”
At present, the Commonwealth has committed $1.2 million to a study of alternative routes for the new highway corridor and a preliminary environmental assessment. “Given the level of congestion on the beltway and the interstates around Washington, D.C., it warrants a look at the alternatives,” Mrs. Watts maintained. She said the study will examine growth patterns and traffic data, focusing particularly on origin 1 and destination of traffic. A “dialogue” must begin to determine historical sites and environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, she added. The alternative routes, “refined to mile wide corridors,” would then be examined to see if any avoid the wetlands and historic sites, she said.
Fauquier Planner Richard McNear asked if anyone in state government is looking at the land use ramifications of the by-pass 20, 30 or 40 years from now on the rural counties it may traverse.
According to the draft agreement for the $1.2 million study, the consultants are to assess the highway’s affect on development patterns, Mrs. Watts reported. “But I can’t claim that (the impact question) will be answered in the detail you want,” she told Mr. McNear.
(See WATTS, page 18)
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