GOP legislators attack plans for seven-mile, $650 million Outer Banks toll bridge<\/p>\n
Published Fri, Oct 05, 2012 06:31 PM<\/p>\n
Modified Fri, Oct 05, 2012 10:43 PM<\/p>\n
By Bruce Siceloff – bsiceloff@newsobserver.com<\/p>\n
By Bruce Siceloff The News and Observer<\/p>\n
Tags: N.C. Turnpike Authority | NCDOT | Mid-Currituck Bridge | David Joyner | Sen. Bill Rabon | Sen. Neal Hunt | Outer Banks<\/p>\n
RALEIGH — Republican legislators at a committee meeting Friday said the state could not afford to contribute to a planned $650 million toll bridge from mainland Currituck County to the northern Outer Banks.<\/p>\n
\u00a0The co-chairs of a House-Senate transportation oversight committee wouldn\u2019t say when or whether they\u2019ll vote on the Mid-Currituck Bridge, which would be built in partnership with an international consortium of private developers. But members argued against committing the state to pay as much as $28 million a year for four decades to cover an expected gap between toll collections \u2013 mostly from tourists \u2013 and project costs.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe problem we have as a state is we don\u2019t have the revenue we need to take care of the infrastructure we currently have, whether it\u2019s Interstate 95 or other roads,\u201d said Sen. Ralph Hise, an Avery County Republican. \u201cIt\u2019s just amazing to me the creative ways we\u2019ve come up with to finance and borrow additional money in different areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Transportation officials said the state\u2019s partnership with private developers actually will push the taxpayer cost higher, not lower. And toll collections will cover only 30 to 40 percent of the project cost \u2013 compared to a 60 percent share expected from drivers who use the Triangle Expressway in Wake County.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cFrom that perspective, it\u2019s hard to justify,\u201d Sen. Neal Hunt, a Wake County Republican, said after the meeting. \u201cI know they have needs down there. But, dadgummit, we have lots of needs in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acting on instructions from the legislature a few years ago, the state Department of Transportation is planning the Mid-Currituck Bridge as a public-private partnership with a Madrid-based consortium that builds bridges around the world. In exchange for taking profits from toll collections that would continue for 50 years, the private partner would carry much of the risk that the bridge \u2013 dependent on a healthy tourism economy \u2013 could turn out to be a financial flop.<\/p>\n
\u00a0David Joyner, the DOT turnpike director, said that reduced risk is worth an extra $3 million a year that taxpayers would pay.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIs this a good deal?\u201d Joyner asked committee members. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to help us decide. We think it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
State and coastal agencies have been talking since 1975 about a bridge across the Currituck Sound, to ease weekend and summer traffic jams on U.S. 158 and N.C. 12. At seven miles, it would be North Carolina\u2019s longest bridge.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Supporters say it would cut 37 miles and as much as two hours from beach trips. Vacationers and others would pay variable tolls projected to reach as high as $25 per trip during peak hours, with discounts for frequent users.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Elected officials and legislative candidates from both political parties in Dare and Currituck counties like the proposed bridge, and so do out-of-state residents who endure long traffic delays on their vacation trips to the Currituck Banks.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAs far as I know, this is the most important project \u2013 and has been for 20 years \u2013 in northeastern North Carolina,\u201d said Rep. Bill Owens Jr., a Perquimans County Democrat. \u201cIt\u2019s important to our economy, and it\u2019s something that\u2019s been worked on by Democrats and Republicans. \u2026 It needs to go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
But a sheaf of letters and emails delivered to the legislature revealed sharp divisions among coastal residents. And the Mid-Currituck Bridge earned low-priority ratings when DOT engineers compared it to other needs.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Sen. Bill Rabon, a Brunswick County Republican who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said he\u2019ll wait to see how the bridge project looks next spring, after as many as 50 newly elected legislators take their seats.<\/p>\n
\u00a0He expressed doubts about a 40-year commitment to pay a combined $123 million a year for the Mid-Currituck Bridge and two other pending toll projects \u2013 enough money, he said, to widen and overhaul I-95. The other two are the Garden Parkway in Gaston County and the Cape Fear Skyway in New Hanover and Brunswick counties.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe numbers just don\u2019t add up on these turnpike projects,\u201d Rabon said. \u201cI wish they did. The one in my area is as bad as this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Siceloff: 919-829-4527 or blogs.newsobserver.com\/crosstown or twitter.com\/Road_Worrier\/<\/p>\n
\u00a0Read more here: http:\/\/www.newsobserver.com\/2012\/10\/05\/2392577\/gop-legislators-attack-plans-for.html#storylink=cpy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GOP legislators attack plans for seven-mile, $650 million Outer Banks toll bridge Published Fri, Oct 05, 2012 06:31 PM Modified Fri, Oct 05, 2012 10:43 PM By Bruce Siceloff – bsiceloff@newsobserver.com By Bruce Siceloff The News and Observer Tags: N.C. Turnpike Authority | NCDOT | Mid-Currituck Bridge | David Joyner | Sen. Bill Rabon | […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":974,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nomcb.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}