Or perhaps, the title of this column should be Can You Get Here From There? In any case, any economic development organization such as the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance has to be vitally concerned with transportation. Most of the businesses and industry that we court have to move either people or product from here to there and/or there to here.

Let’s take a quick look at how the New River Valley fares with the three major forms of transportation.

We will omit the New River as the fourth form of transportation. Although the government classifies it as navigable, anyone who has tubed down the river at low flow in the summer knows that’s not the case.

First, let’s look at highways. With I-81 bisecting the Valley, we are well served by a high speed interstate. For many business prospects, this is number one on their checklist. If a potential business location does not have easy access to an interstate you are out of the competition in many cases.

This highway is part of a major transportation corridor from the Gulf area and Mexico. Several proposals have been made in recent years to expand it and it is the subject of frequent articles in the press. All in all it is a huge asset and is easily accessible to all of the Valley through a good network of primary highways and other roads.

The addition of the US 460 Bypass into Blacksburg, our largest town and the home of the commonwealth’s largest university, Virginia Tech, is a welcome addition to our highway system. The Alliance has endorsed a new road between Virginia Tech and the Commerce Park, NRV Airport, and the New River Community College.

Next, let’s examine rail. Again we are well served by rail with two major rail corridors, the Heartland and the Crescent. The Heartland runs from Hampton Roads, the major port on the East Coast, to Chicago where it connects to all the major Class 1 railroads. Recent work on tunnels in Montgomery and Giles counties allows cars with double stacked containers to move along this route.

The other major route is the Crescent Corridor, which runs from New Orleans to New York and is proposed to carry primarily containers. These corridors run parallel between Roanoke and Elliston before the Heartland heads west down the New River through Giles County. With increased interest in rail, we are well positioned to offer a choice of rail or highway to prospects.

How about air service? The modern terminal at Roanoke provides commercial passenger service to the area and is about 40 minutes from the center of the Valley. While the airport does not offer the wide choices that larger facilities do, it does a good job of feeding the major hubs.

Other airports are the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport at Blacksburg and the New River Valley Airport at Dublin. The Montgomery Airport primarily serves the large amount of traffic generated by Virginia Tech and the NRV Airport is the site of our inland port. And just last week, a major runway resurfacing project was announced for the NRV Airport, which will make its long, wide runway even more attractive to potential businesses looking to come to the area.

All things considered, the NRV is well served with a good choice of modes of transportation.

Ken Anderson is chairman of the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance‘s Board of Directors. He is also CEO of Anderson & Associates in Blacksburg.