State legislators in the Roanoke and Martinsville areas are on record saying they don't want to delay the road for another economic study. To the legislators it's obvious that better roads mean better commerce. This view is widely held in the Martinsville area, where more than 3,000 layoffs at textile factories suggest an employable work force is available to new industries. Opponents of I-73 point out that several communities have failed to prosper despite the presence of an interstate highway. One such community is Clifton Forge.
Environment is the most-studied factor in choosing the highway's route.
Highway opponents can often keep a road away from a neighborhood if an endangered species exists there. On Bent Mountain, I-73 opponents cited the presence of the rare pirateweed as a reason the road shouldn't go there. Federal law requires VDOT to perform an environmental impact study, which is now in its fourth year and nearly complete. May. This study is expected to give equal attention to all of the dozen or more possible corridors. If it fails to consider each corridor equally, opponents can argue in court that the study wasn't adequate and the road shouldn't be built.