Skip to main content

Could a bond issue allow the Cape Fear Skyway to be toll free?

Image
By
Yes, it is indeed possible.

The $550 Million Wilmington Bypass/Cape Fear Skyway Project is one of the several proposed NC Turnpike Authority (NCTA) projects.

In a recent Brunswick County Commissioners meeting, the NCTA presented an update to their Cape fear Skyway Toll Highway proposal. Afterwards, County Commissioner urged those in attendance to contact the 21st Century Transportation Committee in support of a bond issue that would help finance road construction throughout the state.

If built as a toll road, the tolls would only cover 50% of the cost causing the NCTA to look for other sources of 'gap funding', most likely from the state's General Fund. However, a member of the NCTA's Board of Directors, David Redwine, said that if a bond referendum is passed it could solve the funding gap problem for the Cape Fear Skyway. He also stated that tolling the highway is just a series of options to get the project underway.

Story: Wilmington Star-News

Commentary:

Well, the idea of a bond issue to pay for the Skyway not only caught the attention of the Brunswick County Commissioners, but it also made waves with the Editorial staff at the Star-News.

On Tuesday, the paper penned an editorial titled "Toll-free, if possible" voicing their support in "...the state should do everything in its power to avoid building [the Cape Fear Skyway] as a toll road."

They also point out and strongly urge (as it also has been in this blog as well) the legislature to phase down and ultimately eliminate the annual transfer of $170 million from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund. The suggestion has also been made by the 21st Century Transportation Committee, and it should come up in the upcoming short session of the NC Legislature.

The Star-News editorial also looks at the possibility of a state-wide bond issue along with county based sales tax increases (like the one recently approved in Horry County, South Carolina) to help fund highway projects.

It seems to me that the bond issue is being floated around as a trial balloon. If editorials and discussion of the possible bond issue continues, it may in fact make it to a state wide referendum in the near future.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more