March 19, 2014

Project planning and implementation of the Mid-Currituck Bridge is currently on hold while NCDOT reviews the state, regional, and local transportation improvement funding priorities using a new Strategic Mobility Formula.

The Strategic Transportation Investments bill was signed into law in June 2013. It created a new Strategic Mobility Formula to help North Carolina better prioritize transportation investments. The Mid-Currituck Bridge Project is being ranked under this new funding formula. The objective of this new formula is to appropriately align transportation policy and priorities at the statewide, regional, and local levels based on available funding. For more information on the Strategic Mobility Formula, go to http://www.ncdot.gov/strategictransportationinvestments/default.html. The law requires that NCDOT release a draft revised State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) by January 1, 2015 that reflects the effect of the new formula. The STIP allocates anticipated transportation revenues among projects statewide for a seven-year period.

In addition, the Strategic Transportation Investments bill repealed the state revenue bond funding authorization or gap funding for the Mid-Currituck Bridge Project that would have paid bridge construction, operation, and maintenance costs not covered by tolls. If the Mid-Currituck Bridge Project ranking is such that inclusion in the new STIP is appropriate, funding could be restored to the project.