It will level the playing field. Neither the Martinsville nor Henry County governments has sponsored a study to provide hard numbers showing the economic impact the road could have on the region. Although VDOT is required to study the no-build option, Harned said he thinks it's a foregone conclusion that Interstate 73 will be built and will come, somehow, through his region. Doughty, who until a year ago was executive director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, said the possibility of a second interstate is always good news to industrial prospects. When we'd talk about the future of I-73, you could just see their eyes light up.
Manufacturers are among the most obvious beneficiaries of improved interstate access.
Local economic developers had to prove to companies such as Tower and Koyo that they could serve their customers as quickly from the Roanoke Valley as from anywhere else, she said. In today's world, it's all about time. Distribution companies also rely heavily on interstate access. In the Roanoke region, companies such as Home Shopping Network and Hanover Direct ship many of their products via trucks. Their business is on the road. . . .