Skip to main content

Garden Parkway Opponents Compare Gaston Toll Road to Greenville SC's Southern Connector

This is an interesting point that the opponents of the Garden Parkway are making. Does it carry any weight though?

Opponents of the Garden Parkway - the NCTA project that runs through southern and western Gaston County - are using a South Carolina Toll Road as an example of a 'sure thing' toll road that hasn't lived up to expectations and promises.

The troubled Southern Connector (aka Toll I-185) in Greenville, SC opened earlier this decade as a missing link in Greenville's transportation network. The highway afforded motorists the ability to bypass congestted areas of I-85 in the Greenville area.

However, the Southern Connector more often than not sits empty. In fact, vehicular traffic is half than expected, and unless debt refinancing takes place the whole project is scheduled to go into default this coming January. Currently, the roadway handles about 8,000 vehicles a day. Over the past few years, the Connector has been using its reserves to pay off debt.

Opponents of the Garden Parkway have been pointing to the struggling South Carolina Highway as an example of what they believe will be similar results for the North Carolina Toll Road. They see traffic projections and as a result revenues falling short causing the state to scrounge around to cover bad debts.

This, opponents say, is in addition to the annual $35 million the state will pay in 'gap funding' to build the Garden Parkway over the next 40 years. "If a toll road can't pay for itself - why build it?" seems to be the logic of those against the highway.

Supporters and NCTA officials obviously see otherwise. First, they point out to the differences in the size of the Greenville and Charlotte Metro Areas. Greenville's metro population is 625,000 which is significantly smaller than Charlotte's metro population which is about 1.7 million. They also point to more detailed studies and surveys supproting growth in the Charlotte area and specifically Gaston County.

Finally, the NCTA points out that since some of the financing for North Carolina Toll Projects, including the Garden Parkway, are backed by tax dollars - the tolls don't have to cover all the bills.

Story Links:
Millions already spent on parkway ---Gaston Gazette
Public might not warm to toll roads ---Mooresville Tribune

Commentary:

This is an interesting point - and the financial struggles of the Southern Connector makes it more so. With doubt statewide on the ability to finance the toll roads- let along the viability and need for some of these highways - arguments like this one have a lot of validity.

The Garden Parkway has had a controversial history - and throw in a bridge over the Catawba River - an expensive one too. Original plans for the highway carried the road north of I-85 to connecting with US 321 between Dallas and Lincolnton - effectively a US 321 bypass. However, the section north of I-85 seems to have been removed from any plans.

As Gaston County grows, Interstate 85 will only become more gridlocked. But with I-485, along with most of the county's close proximity to this road, travel to the airport and various points around Metro Charlotte is not that difficult.

The truth of the matter is that a US 321 Gastonia bypass (which doesn't need to be tolled) is more needed than a Southern Gaston County Freeway that runs to Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Espescially one that will be tolled and parallel to Interstate 85 five to eight miles further south.

Comments

Brian said…
The fact is that any road that won't serve much of a purpose shouldn't be built, especially ones financed by bonds.
I didn't realize that the Southern Connector was in that bad of shape financially, but then again, the few times I've passed it during my I-85 travels, I don't ever remember seeing a lot of folks getting onto it. Seems like piss-poor planning on SCDOT's part.
Anonymous said…
Great idea, lets not build the GP. At the very least, toll the Catawba River bridge to/from Mecklenburg County as the primary source of revenue. As if the road never gets built because of fears with the SoConn in Greenville County, Gastonian residents will choke in their own carbon monoxide stuck in a jam on I-85 and Wilkenson Boulevard. There are no viable east-west roads in southern Gaston County. Folks who live by the state line in Clover and Lake Wylie are left with limited choices with either NC/SC 49 or NC 273 (or backtrack to I-77 even). Dont be a bunch of NIMBYs. The road may initially not do well but it will overtime. The SoConn connector did not make any sense since it did not go anywhere for most travelers. The GP on the other hand does for the local residents of southern Gaston Co and provides a good alternative for I-85 interregional travel and US 74 travel from Monroe to Shelby.
Sierra Roberts said…
Yeah I wish anonymous was brave enough to leave their name after such terrible comments. Gastonians will choke on their own carbon monoxide? If you were really environmentally concerned you would read the EPA's negative report on this proposed road. Also, the road will destroy much of the ecological habitation surrounding the southern Gaston County area, but I'm guessing they aren't trying to put a bulldozer through your property.

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...