Kat Meyer

Assoc. Community News Editor

The first five miles of the long anticipated Paul B. Henry Freeway (South Beltline) opened last Wednesday.

The opened section of the freeway stretches between Interstate 96 and Broadmoor Avenue SE. The remaining 15 miles will stretch from Broadmoor west to I-196 in Ottawa County. The construction is scheduled to finish in 2005.

When the entire project is completed, it is expected to alter commuting patterns for thousands of residents.

Some commuters, like Kentwood resident Tom Reid, have anticipated the opening of the South Beltline for years.

Reid, who works in Cascade Township, hopes the new freeway will save him time when commuting home during his 60-70 hour workweek.

``It might get me home early enough to read to my son,'' he said.

The freeway should also save tens of thousands of dollars for businesses like Gordon Food Service that move freight through southeast Kent County.

GFS will save $50,000 a year in fuel and drivers' times, Bob Eichlinger, director of marketing for Gordon Food Service, told the Grand Rapids Press.

Not all residents are excited about the opening, however.

Because the section that opened last Wednesday traverses farms, woods and low lands and skirts the edge of The Golf Club at Thorne Apple Pointe, members of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) worry that it will disturb many local ecosystems.

``Many people will make money, but the area as a whole will deteriorate and the quality of life will ultimately decline,'' said Tom Leonard, executive director of WMEAC.

Leonard also sees the South Beltline as a threat to Grand Rapids' remaining rural areas.

``We've been opponents of the South Belt since the `70s, mainly because of the urban sprawl potential,'' he said.

``The business and commercial growth of the South Belt and its North-South connections will exacerbate sprawl development enormously while coming at the expense of commercial districts and residential areas previously established on the southeast side,'' he said.

City planners believe that growth in the region makes the freeway a necessity, however, because it will make local roadways less congested.

Members of the Byron Township Planning Commission are already planning to change nearly 30 acres along the west side of U.S.-131 -- south of 68th Street and east of Clyde Park Avenue -- from residential to commercial zoning.

Commissioners believe that because of its proximity to the two major highways, the land is a prime area to attract large national retailers and restaurants.

``There is a lot of growth pressure there,'' said Larry Nix, a township planner, who sympathizes with both sides of the issue.

``But there are a lot of concerns about the quality of the neighborhood that will be left there,'' he said.

For example, many residents are worried development along the South Beltline may cause a chain reaction throughout the area, pushing residents out as commercial centers expand.

Leonard, on the other hand, is worried about old commercial zones that may get left behind.

``Its effect on 28th Street and 44th Street traffic congestion will be negligible except insofar as it robs business from those corridors,'' said Leonard. ``What I predict is that 28th Street will become the next South Division Avenue. We are already hearing rumors of longtime 28th Street businesses abandoning the area.''

Throughtout its history, the South Beltline has been a matter of contention.

For more than 30 years, the $425 million freeway was stalled by bureaucratic indecision, lack of state and federal funds and debate over the project's likely role in future suburban sprawl.

Lt. Governor Richard Posthumus, who once argued the project should be abandoned due to a lack of funds, has since become one of the Beltline's key supporters, convinced by city planners and transportation officials that the freeway would help control regional growth.

``We don't stop growth; we only manage it,'' he said. ``This clearly became the only way to go.''