Toll roads on, then off, and now on again

UPDATE 10:05 pm: WRAL reports on the 10:00 news that the House has approved a $20 million funding bill for NC 540's western loop. No idea if it's only authorizing the 540 loop, or if it funds all NCTA projects, not to mention how the projects will be funded, but I'm sure we'll find out tomorrow.

Below is the original post from about ten minutes before the new funding bill passed the House:

Yesterday, the toll road financing bill hit a roadblock (ha, ha, what a pun) in the state House.

A western Wake County turnpike project faces up to a two-year delay -- and at least an $80 million markup on its price tag -- after legislative leaders late Wednesday appeared to abandon a last-ditch attempt to find seed money for the proposed toll road.
With the scheduled end of the legislative session looming today, a top House leader said it would be up to Wake County legislators to come up with $20 million in recurring seed money for the Triangle Expressway, an 18.9 mile toll road from Research Triangle Park to Holly Springs, extending the Interstate 540 Outer Loop into western and southern Wake.
"I'll grab the handle and help them pull up the bucket, but I'm leaving it up to them to come up with a solution," said Rep. Nelson Cole, the Reidsville Democrat and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on transportation.
Cole stepped away from the issue after Senate leaders gave a chilly reception to one suggested source for the seed money -- the state highway maintenance fund. Wake County legislators said they would continue to hunt for money to rescue the project, but with time ticking down on the session, success appeared unlikely.
That means up to a two-year delay, said David Joyner, executive director of the N.C. Turnpike Authority. Unless the legislature is called in for a special session on transportation issues, the next opportunity to pump state dollars into the Wake toll road would be the "short session" in May.

One interesting note at the very bottom of that article is that the Turnpike Authority has the ability to pursue public-private partnerships to finance and build the road. I doubt that they'd want to do it on the small-scale projects that they're considering building, but it is an option to be considered in the near future.

Comments

California State Route 38

California State Route 38 is a fifty-nine-mile State Highway located entirety in San Bernardino County and a component of the Rim of the World Highway. California State Route 38 begins at California State Route 18 at Bear Valley Dam of the San Bernardino Mountains and follows an easterly course on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. California State Route 38 briefly multiplexes California State Route 18 near Baldwin Lake and branches east towards the 8,443-foot-high Onyx Summit. From Onyx Summit the routing of California State Route 38 reverses course following a largely westward path through the San Bernardino Mountains towards a terminus at Interstate 10 in Redlands. Pictured as the blog cover is California State Route 38 at Onyx Summit the day it opened to traffic on August 12th, 1961. Part 1; the history of California State Route 38 California State Route 38 (CA 38) is generally considered to be the back way through the San Bernardino Mountains to Big Bear Lake of Bear Valley

The original alignment of California State Route 33 in Firebaugh

Firebaugh is a city located on the San Joaquin River of western Fresno County. Firebaugh is one of the oldest American communities in San Joaquin Valley having been settled as the location of Firebaugh's Ferry in 1854. Traditionally Firebaugh has been served by California State Route 33 which was one of the original Sign State Routes announced during August 1934. In modern times California State Route 33 is aligned through Firebaugh on N Street. Originally California State Route 33 headed southbound passed through Firebaugh via; N Street, 8th Street, O Street, 12th Street, Nees Avenue and Washoe Avenue. The blog cover depicts early California State Route 33 near Firebaugh crossing over a one-lane canal bridge. The image below is from the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Fresno County which depicts the original alignment of California State Route 33 in Firebaugh. Part 1; the history of California State Route 33 in Firebaugh The community of Firebaugh is named in honor of Andr

Driving the Watkins Glen Historic Road Course - New York

Situated at the south end of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, Watkins Glen is well known for wineries along Seneca Lake and waterfalls at Watkins Glen State Park . But one thing that gives the town much renown is its connection to the world of auto racing. The raceway at Watkins Glen Internationa l holds a number of big races every year, such as Six Hours at the Glen and the NASCAR Cup Series . The history of auto racing at Watkins Glen starts during the 1940s when the race followed a course on local roads and also through the streets of downtown Watkins Glen. It's a course that you can follow today, preferably at a more moderate speed than the auto racers of yore raced at. Let's explore the history of the original course, how it came to by and why it is no more. Organized races through the village of Watkins Glen and surrounding roads were first proposed and started by Cameron R. Argetsinger in 1948, marking the beginning of post-war sports car

Gribblenation

Search This Blog