Skip to main content

Triangle Expressway to become a reality

By
Yes, really.

We mean it.

Honest.

They're going to build the Triangle Expressway after all.

"They", of course, is the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, and according to the budget passed today by the General Assembly, they're going to receive their long-awaited "gap funding" to bridge the, well, gap between the immediate construction costs and the eventual toll revenue.

Bruce Siceloff managed to read through the budget -- no small feat, indeed -- and pulled out the details of the four turnpikes that received gap funding.
* TriEx, 18 miles in Wake County and Research Triangle Park. Total cost: $967 million. Gap funding: $25 million each year, starting this year.

* Monroe Connector / Bypass, 21 miles in Union County. Cost: $757 million. Gap funding: $24 million/yr, starting FY 2009-10.

* Mid-Currituck Bridge, 7 miles over Currituck Sound. Cost: $636 million. Gap funding: $15 million/yr, starting FY 2009-10.

* Garden Parkway, 15 miles in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. Cost: $765 million. Gap funding: $35 million/yr, starting FY 2010-11.
So where's the money coming from?
They found the money by diverting part of a $172 million yearly transfer from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund, where the money has been spent in the past for non-transportation purposes. Transportation advocates have argued in recent years that Highway Trust Fund money — collected mostly from fuel taxes and automobile sales — should be used only for roads.
(What a novel concept, that last line.)

With this money now budgeted for construction, the Authority hopes to begin construction by the end of this year, and open the entire Triangle Expressway by the end of 2010. Of course, there's still a possibility that Gov. Mike Easley could veto the budget and we could start all over again, but for the time being, let's assume that won't happen. (Although given how convoluted the path to this point has been, nothing's impossible...)
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Forgive my ignorance, but what is the purpose of the Garden Parkway? Maps I've seen of it seem to show it paralleling I-85 for its entire run... why is this road needed? Is there that much traffic in that area that I-85 can't handle it all?
12:51 PM
Anonymous said…
The $24 Million "gap' funding is actually Appalachian Highway Development Funds which have been diverted since mid 80's from Corridor's A and K in Division 14. Prior to the "Equity" formula, which now is admitted by NCDOT, though hidden deep in Corridor K web page, the State of NC passed Session Laws to create "Infrastructure Banking". This ADHS money was and remains under full oversight of the FHWA, so there had to be a conspired effort on Federal level as well. The "infrastructure Banking" tool is now widely used by all states and not just for highways. The State of NC RANKS LAST OF ALL 50 STATES IN COMPUTER TRANSACTIONS per Citizen ... and even as recent as December 2014, the NC State Computer Information Office (SCIO) issued this statement as part of a Statewide Restructuring Plan document ...and I quote " In today's siloed nature of (NC) government, it is NOT possible to determine true costs and responsibilities or enforce accountability. The Siloed Nature of government has resulted in disparate processes.... TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY CANNOT BE ACHIEVED!!" James R. Wilson, PE jamiewilson@enigneer.com
8:27 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more