Triangle toll road among 20 projects NCDOT might fund with stimulus dollars
NCPIRG
RALEIGH – North Carolina transportation officials have at the ready 20 highway projects in the Triangle costing $1 billion, should federal infrastructure stimulus dollars come flowing to the state.
But plenty of questions remain to be answered about how many of the projects would meet both federal and state criteria.
“We, of course, could put the money to good use – and quickly,” says Susan Coward, deputy secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Indeed, the department, as do those in all states, has plenty of options. In 2008, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials asked states to develop lists of transportation projects that could be undertaken quickly if federal stimulus funds came available.
“The key here is to try to create jobs,” AASHTO spokesman Tony Dorsey says of a national infrastructure stimulus package that’s expected to be presented to Congress by President-elect Barack Obama. “Whatever plan is created – we think this is a critical time to invest in the nation’s roads and bridges.”
News reports put the projected size of a stimulus package at as much as $800 billion, but about $300 billion of that is believed to be set aside for tax cuts.
NCDOT has compiled a mammoth list of 543 projects statewide that would cost $6.2 billion. About $5 billion of those are highway projects. The remaining billion dollars are broken down this way: $374 million for public transportation, $315 million for aviation, $256 million for rail, $64 million for ferries and $26 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects.
The list is drawing criticism in some circles. Ashley Chase would like to see more maintenance and repair projects and less new construction.
“It should be more of a fix-it-first policy,” says Chase, an advocate for a watchdog organization called the North Carolina Public Interest Research Group. “I would like to see, definitely, some revision to the wish list.”
At more than $1 billion, the list of highway projects in Wake, Orange and Durham counties looks impressive at first glance. But the Western Wake Freeway and the Triangle Parkway, which are on the list, account for $918 million. Those highways for now are slated to be built as the state’s first toll road, a project whose funding backers believe will be ready to go once the bond market thaws.
Subtracting the toll projects leaves a relatively skimpy $159 million in Triangle highway projects on the list. They range from strengthening the pavement on Interstate 85 in Orange County to widening U.S. 401 in Wake County to bridge work on U.S. 501 in Durham.
How many and which local projects would be eligible to receive money won’t be known until Congress determines the rules of the road for stimulus spending.
It’s likely that any stimulus money would be distributed to states using formulas established in the current federal highway bill, but there could be other restrictions as well – such as timelines for letting contracts and completing projects.
Once the money gets to North Carolina, its distribution ultimately would be in the hands of the North Carolina Board of Transportation. The board would apply its own set of criteria, such as trying to make sure the funds are spread out geographically and amongst a wide range of contractors.
Former NCDOT official David King foresees a struggle between politicians’ desire to spend the money quickly to stimulate the economy and the bureaucrats’ urge to regulate.
“There’s a real conflict there, and it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out,” says King, who now heads Triangle Transit. “You want accountability and speed, and that’s always a difficult equation.”
