Kaine promotes transportation plan in Radford
COLLEGIATETIMES
june 12, 2008
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GABRIEL MCVEY
ct staff writer
MATT BOONE/SPPS
Squires Student Center is preparing for a new look. The lower lobby of Squires displays an exhibit for students and faculty to observe possible renovation options.
Gov. Tim Kaine addressed a local audience at Radford University’s Hurlburt Student Center on June 4 as part of a statewide series of town hall-style meetings promoting his 2008 transportation plan. “The question we have to ask ourselves is, ‘Do we want to invest in our future?”’ Kaine said. “We need to act, because no state thrives with a declining infrastructure.” Kaine said Virginia has the third largest highway network in the United States and is experiencing rapid growth, while high gas prices had depressed driving, causing a decrease in gas-tax revenues that had removed a projected $1.1 billion out of Virginia transportation funds. The Commonwealth’s $250 million transportation maintenance budget is simply insufficient, Kaine said. This, coupled with legal mandates privileging maintenance projects over new work, meant rural and economically depressed areas received few or no upgrades to their transportation infrastructure, which further hurt local and state economic bases, Kaine said. Kaine also said that funding shortfalls in Virginia’s transportation
maintenance budget had forced the state to transfer $375 million from new road construction to maintenance projects. According to Kaine, an excellent example of the local and state economies growing as a result of new transportation infrastructure work building was the transportation upgrade required to attract PepsiCo to Wythe County. The new Gatorade manufacturing and distribution facility created 250 new jobs in rural Southwest Virginia. Kaine counterpointed the Wythe County success with the Virginia 713 bridge collapse at Walker Creek in Giles County, as an example of the state’s aging and degrading infrastructure. The bridge collapsed when a concrete truck from Fort Chiswell Construction attempted to cross the century-old 158-foot steel truss and timber deck bridge. The truck was over the bridge’s stated weight limit. Kaine said that 17,000 of Virginia’s 20,000 bridges were rated “structurally deficient.” “Structurally deficient” can have a variety of implications, and does not necessarily mean that any of the bridges are in real danger of significant failure. Typically the find-
Squires prepares for renovations Blacksburg BERNADETTE WHITE
ct news editor Squires Student Center will be getting a new look with pending renovations. According to Julie WaltersSteele, director of University Unions, studies on Squires began three years ago on the building envelope to identify problem areas causing leaking in the building. These studies revealed structural damage to the building including water damage and deterioration inside walls. In addition, loose mortar and bricks on the outside of the building proved to be a
“critical concern.” During spring break, Carolina Restorations was contracted to remove some of the loose mortar. While removing the mortar, Carolina Restorations found corrosion that was causing the mortar to come loose. “We knew we needed significant dollars to make permanent repairs,” Walters-Steele said. There is a pending capital fund request to make the renovations and repairs permanent. Additional sources for funding the project could come from the Virginia Tech Foundation, with naming opportunities to sponsor major rooms in Squires. Another means to raise funds would be
through a capital campaign by University Unions and Student Activities. Many of the functional issues that renovations hope to address are updates to the heating and air conditioning units, which date from 1967, duct work and electrical and plumbing work. Accompanying these structural changes will also be some visual change. “Aesthetically, the building has not been updated since the 19891990 renovations,” Walters-Steele said. The first steps toward the renovation process started at the end
see SQUIRES, page four
see GOVERNOR, page two
Sonic scratched GABRIEL MCVEY
ct staff writer By a 4-3 vote, Blacksburg Town Council denied Fairmount University Realty Trust’s request for a Special Use Permit to build a Sonic Drive-In as part of the first and Main development at 1430 South Main St. At the June 10 meeting, after a briefing by Zoning Administrator Andrew Warren the council opened public comment on the proposed site, which would have been at the northernmost out-par-
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cel abutting South Main Street. After receiving comment from several Blacksburg residents — all but one opposed to the permit — the council entered discussion and then voted. Warren addressed concerns brought by the Planning Commission regarding noise, the “Sonic Radio” music broadcast, signage and integration into the Phase One development’s pedestrian and vehicle access. Warren also presented documents
see SONIC, page three