NO MID-CURRITUCK BRIDGE

N.C. held back data on bypass, documents say
Records suggest feds were given a misleading projection on Monroe toll road near U.S. 74.
By Steve Harrison
sharrison@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2011

More Information
Conflicting stories?

Emails and documents suggest the N.C. Turnpike Authority didn’t give the federal government a true accounting of how a proposed $800 million toll road in Union County would affect the environment, which may have made it easier for the highway to get approvals necessary for construction.

Before highways are built, the federal government requires environmental impact projections. Those are compared to a forecast of what would happen if the road weren’t built – how many houses would be built anyway, for example.

But when conducting its “no build” study, the authority used data that assumed the Monroe Connector/Bypass highway was already in place, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill. The group has filed a lawsuit to stop construction, scheduled to begin this year.

That means the Turnpike Authority didn’t do a true “build vs. no build” study – comparing instead building the road to building the road, the lawsuit argues.

“That’s cooking the books,” said transportation consultant David Hartgen, professor emeritus at UNC Charlotte, who is not connected to the lawsuit.

The N.C. Department of Transportation, which works with the Turnpike Authority, acknowledges it used data projecting the highway had already been built. But it said its engineers adjusted their analysis to make the studies valid, and that the amount of data used assuming the toll road existed was insignificant.

One federal official who has been critical of the project moving forward said she believes the Turnpike Authority wasn’t forthright. continue reading…

http://www.ncleg.net/documentsites/committees/jointappropriationstransportation2011/2011-02-24%20meeting/frd_ncta_02242011.pdf

http://www.ncleg.net/documentsites/committees/LSCPPP/1-13-2011/DOT%20presentation1-13%20P3%20Commission%20rev.pdf

Money-waster road will induce sprawl
Gaston toll road won’t create jobs or ease I-85 traffic. Kill it.
Posted: Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011
The state plans to spend $870 million to slash a new road through still mostly rural south Gaston County. It’s a waste of precious transportation money. Here’s why:

The Garden Parkway will not, the state’s projections show, relieve congestion on Interstate 85. Projections show more congestion on I-85 if the road is built.

It won’t create new jobs in the area. In fact, state projections show a slight decrease in the total number of new jobs for areas of Gaston, Mecklenburg and York counties that were studied, compared with a scenario where the road is not built. And the geographic spread of those projected new jobs shows N.C. counties losing 900 jobs and South Carolina gaining 600, compared to a no-build scenario.

Even those job projections are suspect. Project manager Jill Gurak of PBS&J, a consulting firm on the project, in May sent an e-mail questioning whether the job loss data would look bad. She suggested “more outside-the-model smoothing” of the data. (The Turnpike Authority says Gurak didn’t understand computer modeling.)

The Garden Parkway is to be a toll road with tolls helping repay the state’s debt for building it. But because toll revenue isn’t expected to be enough to repay all the debt, the state has set aside $35 million a year for an estimated 30 years – more than $1 billion – to cover the gap.

Think about it. Potholes scar state-maintained streets in Charlotte and other cities; I-85 needs widening in Cabarrus and Gaston counties; a shovel-ready $365 million commuter rail line languishes in Mecklenburg for lack of money. Why spend millions on this useless road?

We are not sure. But we do know this: Two affluent former legislators own developable property at several planned interchanges. One is former Sen. David Hoyle, an influential Gaston County Democrat, now N.C. revenue secretary. He was instrumental in winning state money for the road. In 2006 he and family members bought 327 acres, which await development, near a planned exit. Another is former Sen. Robert Pittenger, a developer and a Mecklenburg Republican. He owns about 2,000 acres along the toll road route.

The state’s projections state clearly that the road won’t create more growth in the growing Charlotte region. It will, though, lure more of the growth to southern Gaston. In other words, existing municipalities – where taxpayers have already paid for fire stations, police stations, schools and water-sewer systems – stand to lose potential new growth, which will instead splatter across undeveloped land near the toll road. The new development will require new, taxpayer-funded infrastructure. So explain again why it’s a good thing to suck growth and jobs away from established town centers?

Steve DeWitt, chief engineer for the state’s Turnpike Authority, defends the road. He says it will reduce congestion and improve mobility. This is transportation theory that’s about as up-to-date as a Nehru jacket. Modern traffic engineers understand the concept of “induced traffic” – new roads tend to cause more traffic than if they were never built.

The Garden Parkway is, to all appearances, a boondoggle. Thousands of Gaston residents oppose it. It will destroy existing homes and rural areas, create air pollution and costly sprawl. All it appears good for is enriching developers and politicians. The state should find better uses for its millions.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/02/10/2049092/money-waster-road-will-induce.html#ixzz1FGZUf28c

Preferred Alternative Press Release

Expect pain, difficult choices, Owens says
By Reggie Ponder
The Daily Advance
Friday, January 21, 2011
North Carolina’s projected $3.7 billion budget shortfall will result in painful spending cuts and require difficult decisions by state lawmakers, state Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, told a group of area public officials and business leaders Friday.
Owens spoke at the annual Northeastern Legislative Summit held at The Pines in Elizabeth City. He said that in keeping with the “100” theme — Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Palestrant had mentioned earlier that the Chamber is 100 years old this year and using that as a theme — Owens predicted that 100 percent of the people would be unhappy with the upcoming state budget.
Lawmakers will find few places to cut the state budget because all the “low-lying fruit” has been cut in the last two years, Owens said.
He said 60 percent of the budget goes for education, which makes spending choices even more difficult.
Owens said that it’s “ridiculous” to talk about closing Elizabeth City State University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke — as one leader from the western part of the state had mentioned.
Owens was scheduled to be joined at Friday’s event by fellow state Reps. Tim Spear, D-Washington, and Annie Mobley, D-Hertford, and by state Sen. Ed Jones, D-Halifax.
However, because of family illnesses and conflicting schedules, Owens was the only area legislator to attend.
Addressing a project dear to the hearts of his constituents in Currituck, Owens said he hopes the “gap funding” for the proposed mid-county bridge will remain intact. Taking away that money would not help the general fund, he said.
All it means, he said, is that highway money slated for this region will go elsewhere.
“We will be in a defensive mode because of cuts that will be taking place,” Owens said.
Owens, who had reached the number two position in the House when it was controlled by Democrats, said he believes that House Republicans, who will take control when the Legislature reconvenes next week, have elected a good leadership team.
“I’ve got to say they have been very fair to me personally,” he said. “I’ve been pleased with the way they have treated me so far.”
The House leadership will have a tough time because of the challenging budget, he said.
On an issue to Elizabeth City, Edenton, Hertford and Winfall officials, Owens said the General Assembly likely will try to curtail annexation by cities and towns.
Owens said that while he is interested in tweaking annexation laws, states that have sharply limited annexation have seen their cities and towns “become slums.”
He said he favors raising the cap — now set at 100 — on charter schools but believes vouchers for private schools — which many Republicans would like to see implemented — would hurt public education.
He said there probably will be an effort in the Legislature to repeal the Racial Justice Act.
Although there are some things in that law that some people don’t support, “I hope that doesn’t happen,” Owens said.
Despite those and other legislative initiatives, Owens said the most important issue for all lawmakers next session will be the budget and job creation.
He said he and other area legislators have worked hard on basic infrastructure for northeastern North Carolina.
A lot of that is now in place because legislators have worked as a team, he said.
He said he will work with Republican lawmakers in the upcoming term as much as possible. The two parties need to work together, he said, because there are “bigger problems and issues than trying to make each other look bad.”
Owens said he hopes legislators can “find some middle ground” on a GOP proposal to require voters to display an identification card at the polls. He said he wants to stop voter fraud but would hate to see someone 90 years old not be able to vote because they forget their ID card, or someone who owes child support be afraid to go vote because they would have to show ID at the polls.
He said there also is likely to be a push for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
He said he believes the amendment is unnecessary since state law already prohibits same-sex marriage.
Answering a question about funding for the N.C. Rural Center, Owens said he thought funding would continue but he predicted that local matching funds might have to increase.
He said he would work to have “a graduated scale” so that lower-wealth counties would not be overburdened by the matching funds requirements.
He said there probably will be less money available for nonprofits in the upcoming budget since basic state services have to come first.
Addressing the issue of redistricting, Owens said he is in favor of a nonpartisan commission working on redistricting. But he said Democrats drew districts in their favor 10 years ago and Republicans likely will do the same now.
Aside from partisan issues, however, rural North Carolina “is in for a tough road in my opinion” because of the increasing influence of urban areas, Owens said.
That will continue to be the case regardless of which party controls the legislature, he said.
Richard Bunch of the Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce read a letter from Spear, who was absent because of a serious illness in his family.
Spear’s letter said job creation is a top priority, including tax credits and lowering he capital gains tax and looking closely at regulations. He endorsed continued highway and continuation of funding for low wealth school districts.
The state should consolidate and eliminate outdated and nonperforming programs, Spear’s letter stated.
“Everything will be on the table,” Spear said. “There will be no sacred cows in this session.”
Contact Reggie Ponder at rponder@dailyadvance.com

New location roadway, including a proposed bridge over the Currituck Sound, from Currituck County mainland to the Currituck County Outer Banks.

Length
Approximately 7.0 miles

Estimated Cost
Preliminary cost is estimated at $659.2 million. Final costs will be determined during design.

Free alternate route
Existing US 158 across the Wright Memorial Bridge, then NC 12.

Timeline
Draft Environmental Impact Statement Completed
Final Environmental Impact Statement Spring/Summer 2011
Record of Decision Summer/Fall 2011
Project Open to Traffic 2015

Project Update as of January 2011
Recently we have received numerous phone calls and e-mail queries about the status of the Mid-Currituck Bridge project. We hope everyone interested in this project will find this brief status update helpful.

Since the close of the public and agency comment period in June 2010, we have reviewed all of the comments received and moved forward with selecting a Preferred Alternative. The focus of this effort has been on the selection of a Preferred Alternative that includes a Mid-Currituck Bridge. ER2 (widening existing roads only) and the No-Build Alternative, however, remain on the table until a final decision is made.

An important part of this effort has been working with environmental resource and regulatory agencies to resolve key environmental concerns associated with a Mid-Currituck Bridge. This has taken longer than we hoped. Once these concerns are resolved, we will announce a Preferred Alternative and send a notice to everyone on our project mailing list. If a bridge project is selected, we will issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in Spring/Summer 2011, followed by a Record of Decision in Summer/Fall 2011. The project is anticipated to be open to traffic in 2015.

Although no final decision has been made, we are pursuing MCB4/C1 as the Preferred Alternative with refinements to help avoid and minimize natural resource and community impacts. Although not final and subject to change, the Preferred Alternative currently under consideration includes the following characteristics:

• A Mid-Currituck Bridge.

• The C1 or northern bridge ending on the Outer Banks. The ending would be relocated to pass between the currently improved first phase of the Corolla Bay subdivision and the northern end of the Monteray Shores subdivision. This location is currently undeveloped and unimproved. C1, as shown in the Draft EIS, passed though the southern end of the first phase of the Corolla Bay subdivision. This change would reduce impacts both to Corolla Bay and area wetlands. The bridge approach road would be at least 300 feet away from the homes and lots west of NC 12.

• Turning safety improvements at Waterlily Road on US 158. All right and left turning movements would be allowed.

• A toll plaza at US 158 and not in Aydlett.

• No closure of Aydlett Road and no access to the bridge or its approach road in Aydlett.

• Bridging across Maple Swamp as defined in the Draft EIS as Option A.

• A revised NC 12 widening design that would include less four-lane widening than was proposed in the Draft EIS. Widening of NC 12 to four lanes would take place only in the bridge ending area, the Food Lion and TimBuck II commercial area, and the Currituck Clubhouse Drive area. Instead of traffic signals, roundabouts would be used on NC 12 at the bridge ending and at Currituck Clubhouse Drive. Roundabouts would help keep summer weekend traffic moving despite less widening. A traffic signal would continue to be used at Albacore Street. Left turn lanes would be built at intersections in areas that remain two lanes between the bridge ending and Currituck Clubhouse Drive. Marked pedestrian crossings would be built at locations specified by Currituck County in areas where NC 12 is widened.

•To improve hurricane evacuation clearance times, reversing the center turn lane along US 158 on the mainland and north of the Mid-Currituck Bridge. On the Outer Banks, providing three westbound lanes on US 158 from the NC 12/US 158 intersection through the Duck Woods Drive intersection and then merging back to two westbound lanes approximately 750 feet west of this intersection.

Stormwater management and Mid-Currituck Bridge construction techniques that would minimize impacts to Currituck Sound also have been an important part of discussions with the environmental resource and regulatory agencies.

Because no final decision has been made, the items listed above could change. However, substantial changes are not expected if a bridge is selected as the Preferred Alternative.

We hope that this indication of progress and status is helpful. We know many of you will have questions and like more details. We are working on those details. We will provide more detail when the Preferred Alternative is announced and in the Final EIS.

Mid-Currituck Bridge
• Cost: $580 – $670 million
• Length: 7 miles
• 2010 Milestones
– Draft Environmental Impact Statement
issued in March
– Evaluating Public-Private Partnership option
• Schedule
– Complete environmental studies Mid-2011
– Complete project financing Late 2011
– Begin construction Late 2011
– Open to traffic 2014

In our fight against the Mid-Currituck Bridge, this comment by Currituck County Commissioner says it all… “Vance Aydlett, the Republican chairman of Currituck’s Board of Commissioners, said Basnight’s resignation may affect plans for a mid-county bridge in Currituck. Basnight has been a key proponent of the proposed bridge from Currituck’s mainland to the Outer Banks. This summer the General Assembly under Basnight’s leadership allocated gap funds to subsidize construction of the $800 million toll road and bridge. With Basnight’s resignation, the future of the bridge may be in jeopardy as opposition continues to mount, Aydlett said.”

By Cindy BeamonBy Reggie PonderBy William F. West And Kristin Pitts
The Daily Advance
Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Officials greeted the news of Sen. Marc Basnight’s resignation from the state Senate Tuesday with a mixture of concern for the future of projects the senator backed and appreciation for the powerful lawmaker’s support of communities in the state’s northeastern corner.

Pasquotank Board of Commissioners Chairman Lloyd Griffin, who also served previously on Elizabeth City’s City Council, said he had met with Basnight many times over the years on issues of concern to the city and county.

“He always had an open door policy and was open to ideas that came from our area,” Griffin said. “Marc was a strong supporter of promoting and creating the highways, the Internet highway and the gas pipeline for our region, which all of us in the counties he serves benefited from. Marc supported our education system and Elizabeth City State (University) with the development of the pharmacy school and the aviation sciences program.”

Griffin said Basnight will be missed.

“Marc’s leadership and his promotion of northeastern North Carolina will be sorely missed by the communities which he represented, and for us to have that leadership again in the state legislature will take years to develop.” Griffin said. “We as eastern North Carolinians should thank Marc for the time he served in Raleigh as well as for the projects and the support of our communities while he served us in Raleigh.”

Elizabeth City Mayor Roger McLean said Basnight has been a friend to the city and neighboring communities.

“Marc is truly going to be missed,” McLean said. “He has meant so much to the citizens of Elizabeth City.”

McLean, a former vice chancellor for business and finance at ECSU, said Basnight had been a strong supporter of the university.

Every new building or program at Elizabeth City State University in recent decades “Marc has had a hand in it — without a doubt,” McLean said. “Without him a lot of progress that you see out there today would not have been made.”

While most area officials praised Basnight’s Senate service, Hood Richardson, a Republican county commissioner from Beaufort County who challenged Basnight for the Senate seat in the November election, questioned the timing of his former opponent’s resignation.

Richardson said it’s frustrating to see Basnight resign almost immediately after winning the election.

“Someone who didn’t run gets to serve in the seat,” Richardson said, referring to the process by which a committee of Democratic Party leaders from the 1st Senatorial District will recommend someone for Gov. Beverly Perdue to appoint to the seat. “That’s frustrating,” Richardson said.

Richardson said he has been in politics a long time and knows that this is the way the succession process works. Still, appointing someone to the vacancy — rather than electing him or her — strikes him as unfair, he said.

Given “the fact that (Basnight) ran for office, probably knew that he was not going to serve” and is resigning at the beginning of the term, “I think whoever the Democratic Party picks should have to run against me again,” Richardson said. continue reading…