Gribblenation

Sadly, as a result of budget shortfalls NCDOT is halting operations on two of its three inland river ferries. These small cable pulled ferries are relics to the past and crossings at some of these sites date to the 1800s. The two northeastern North Carolina ferries - Sans Souci and Parkers - will shut down. The Elwell Ferry over the Cape Fear River in Bladen County will remain in operation. https://www.wral.com/the-very-last-ride-dot-cuts-mean-end-to-two-cable-ferries-in-eastern-nc/19142481/?fbclid=IwAR0taDKs6o1lsdm2-ex1M1nrlxdWU6GesflftHxoRlPNjMA5y1quA77x6Gw I have features on all three inland ferries: Parkers: http://carolinaxroads.blogspot.com/2017/01/parkers-ferry.html Sans Souci: http://carolinaxroads.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-second-cable-ferry-in-north.html Elwell: http://carolinaxroads.blogspot.com/2016/07/elwell-ferry.html

On January 10, NCDOT released its Draft 2020-2029 State Transportation Improvement Program (or STIP) to public comment. The document provides a list of funded transportation projects for the state over the next 10 years. The document has both good and bad news for supporters of the many future Interstate routes the state plans to build over the next decade or two. The document lists each project by NCDOT Division, the estimated cost (and funding source) for each, and a timetable for Right-of-Way purchase and project construction. The information is presented in tables such as the one below (this for the I-74 section of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway): This post will summarize what the Draft STIP has revealed for new Interstate projects for the next 10 years. For current project information, feel free to check out my I-73/I-74 in North Carolina and Future North Carolina Interstate sites. The major project to start in 2019 is the US 70 Havelock Bypass, a $221 million ...

The US Department of Transportation today announced the recipients of $1.5 billion in TIGER Grant funding. Of nearly 1400 requests for funding that was a combined total of $56.5 billion, 51 projects - or 3.7% of those submitted - received TIGER funding.  The awards ranged from a maximum of $105 million to a minimum of $3.15 million. To see the list of grant winners - go here . Only four of the 51 awarded projects will be fully funded with TIGER financing.  They include a $14 million project that will improve the infrastructure at three Maine seaports , $45 million for a new 1.5 mile New Orleans Streetcar line from Union Station to Canal St. along Loyola Ave. , $35 million to complete 3.7 miles of a US 395 freeway in Spokane (the money will build two missing southbound lanes), and $3.5 million for improvements to US 93 in Whitefish, MT. Specific of interest to this blog, $10 million each was awarded to the I-85 Yadkin River Bridge project and the eventual construction of...

A few weeks ago, a blog reader made the following comment on my post " Will Charlotte stop complaining about I-485 now? ": Adam, do you have any idea if the equity formula will be modified or dropped in the next few years? With rural areas losing clout in the state government to the more urbanized Piedmont, and the larger number of discontented voters voicing their concerns in the Piedmont, it seems likely to me that NCDOT and/or the General Assembly will want to alter this some way soon. That would be a shame for our rural areas of course, particularly in the east and west, but as an urbanite in the Triangle, I frankly think it needs to happen, as right now the major metropolitan areas just are not getting what they need if they want to continue to boom transportation-wise this century. Your thoughts? A great comment and question by the reader.  So here goes.  (Editors note: Brian or Bob if you want to write your own opinion to this comment - feel free.) : The first part...

Tonight I was curious in knowing what other projects have other state's applied for the $1.5 billion in TIGER Discretionary Funds that will be awarded next month.  My original thinking was that it was only one project per state, and it would be a neat idea to maybe research and blog about them  Bzzzztttt, was I wrong! The USDOT received 1380, yes 1380, applications from all 50 states, plus Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.  The total amount of requests total $56.5 billion.  That is nearly 38 times the amount that will be awarded!!!!  No wonder why the final decisions have been delayed. Texas led with 125 applications - followed closely by California (117), and Florida (115).  The least amount of applications came from Hawaii with only 1. New Hampshire, South Dakota, and North Dakota only had two applications. It appears that any organization could apply for the TIGER Grants - and that would explain why SCDOT encoura...

In a letter to NC Secretary of Transportation, Gene Conti , Chief Deputy Attorney General Grayson G. Kelly declared the "design-build-finance" plan for the missing Interstate 485 as legal. The letter, available here , pointed to a 2006 General Assembly Act as the legal precedent that will allow the Governor's plan to go forward. The act " ...further expanded NCDOT's contracting authority by allowing the Department, with Board of Transportation approval, to enter into agreements with private entities, political subdivisions and the North Carolina Turnpike Authority to finance by tolls and other financing methods authorized by law, the cost of acquiring, constructing, equipping, maintaining, and operating highways, roads, streets and bridges. " Interestingly, later amendments to the law allow NCDOT to enter into similar agreements for all transportation projects including rail. Additional Stories: Plan for Charlotte Beltway Wins State Endorsement ---Cha...

Both the Triad and Triangle Business Journals last week published stories on the amount of funding for highway loops throughout the state of North Carolina. And when you look at the details, Charlotte doesn't have much to complain about. In fact, Charlotte has the greatest percentage of their loop miles completed or funded within the state. At 93 %, or 68.4 of nearly 74 miles proposed, Charlotte is well ahead of other cities like Raleigh or Greensboro and miles beyond Durham, Asheville , or Winston-Salem which show zero miles funded/completed. (See figure at right.) For years, residents and political leaders in the Charlotte area has complained about the lack of urgency in Raleigh to complete their loop. The reality of the chart shows that Charlotte is way ahead of any city within the state. The root cause for the infighting between North Carolina cities for limited highway funds can be traced to the variety of funding mechanisms for transportation projects within the state...

It didn't take long for doubts to start creeping in on Governor Beverly Perdue's design-build-finance plan for completing Interstate 485. Two weeks after the announcement of the plan, NC Treasurer Janet Cowell's office issued a statement expressing concern on how the plan is financed. A spokesperson for Cowell's office said, "In the absence of contracts specifying terms and conditions of the 485 project, we are unable to determine if there are issues or concerns." Perdue's office immediately responded with a statement of their own, "Prior to announcing the plan, we worked with the[Attorney General Roy Cooper's] office as we developed the design-build-finance program for completing I-485. During this process, the Attorney General's office indicated that our plan was legal." Then throw in that the DOT thought that the Treasurer's office was already on board with the plan. Jim Trogdon , the DOT's chief operating officer, sai...

Earlier today, Governor Perdue announced her plan to complete the Interstate 485 loop in the next five years. The plan is something called a design-build-finance plan, and it has yet to be used within North Carolina. However, there are a number of hurdles and loopholes within the plan The term 'design-build' is familiar within North Carolina transportation projects. Design-build projects are where the builder also designs the overall project- often while the project is ongoing. One of North Carolina's first design-build projects was the Interstate 85 widening between miles 40-48. 'Design-build-finance' is where the contractor pays for some or all of the construction and then gets reimbursed by the state within a specified period of time. This method has been used elsewhere in the country including an Interstate 69 reconstruction project in Michigan . The projected cost to complete the remaining five miles of I-485 is now roughly $340 million. Under this plan, ...

I don't even know where to begin. After the NC House passed their budget - which would allocate money from the former Highway to General fund transfer towards 'gap financing' of toll roads - the Senate worked on their version of the budget with their own influences and what not. So let's review: NC House passes their version of the budget. The budget authorizes $25 million a year towards the completion of the Triangle Expressway. This transfer will begin in the upcoming budget (FY 2008-09) and would last 39 years. Next year (FY 2009-10), a $24 million 'gap financing' transfer would begin for the Monroe Bypass. That passed two weeks ago. Now the Senate has of course their version of the budget, and along with that, the Senate has their own political power structure. This includes David Hoyle (D-Gaston County). Hoyle was very instrumental in getting the US 321 freeway from I-85 in Gastonia to I-40 in Hickory built in the 1990s. Hoyle is hoping to include addin...

Construction of the proposed Triangle Expressway toll road took a small legislative step to becoming a reality this week when the NC House approved an annual transfer of $25 million for 39 years to finance the highway. The $25 million will come from the phasing out of the controversial transfer of an annual $172.5 million from the Highway Fund to the General Fund. In the following year, 2010, the transfer would grow to $49 million to provide gap funding to the Monroe Bypass outside of Charlotte. The decision to slowly eliminate the annual transportation funds transfer to the general fund was passed in the House's version of the state budget. The budget now goes to the House. Last year, two different versions of 'gap funding' for toll roads were passed by the NC House and Senate. However, an agreement between both legislative bodies was never made and no money was allocated towards the highway. NCTA officials claim that if the 'gap funding' is approved - construc...

NC 218 has become a 'Monroe Bypass' by default, and as a result the rural Union County highway is starting to show some wear in addition to safety deficiencies. So there's a plan to improve it. Resurface 30 miles of highway, widen the roadway to 24 feet (from 20-22 feet), build turning lanes at various major intersections (US 601, NC 200 and 205.) Cost: $15.5 million. Not a big deal, right? Well, the Charlotte Division of NCDOT (Division 10) is about $14 million short in funds to start the project this year. So the division's engineer, Barry Moose, came up with the suggestion that some of the funds come from a project to add additional lanes to US 601. Well this proposal didn't sit to well with Monroe City Council. In fact, they passed a resolution against the idea. Their concern is that the wider US 601 will be needed when the real US 74 Monroe Bypass is built. (which, quite honestly, no one has a clue on when that actually will see the light of day - unfortun...

As you all well and know, earlier this week , Governor Mike Easley announced his own plan for improving road financing within the state of North Carolina. And as we predicted (and Bob made note of in the comments), the Governor's 21st Century Transportation Committee came up with their own suggestions. Story: Raleigh News & Observer There was a plethora of items within the Committee's conclusions, but since the governor specifically targeted the annual transfer of $172.6 million from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund, lets look at the differences there first. Gov. Easley suggested that the transfer be reduced by $25 million this year and eventually be eliminated completely. (He didn't give a timetable for how long that would take.) The $25 million would then be applied for the necessary gap funding for the proposed Triangle Expressway Toll Road. (Which needs about $22-25 million per year for 40 years to cover the cost of building the highway.) I pointed out ...

With the short session of the North Carolina Legislature just underway, Governor Mike Easley proposed some changes in the annual transfer of funds from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund. The governor's proposal - reduce the transfer of $172.6 million by $25 million. The ultimate goal is to reduce the transfer in its entirety. The governor did not mention how many years it would take to complete phase out the funds transfer. Where would the $25 million go? As the gap funding for the Triangle Expressway. The change in the transfer of funds would ultimately need to be approved by the legislature. Story: Triangle Business Journal Commentary: Where should I begin on this one. First, I am sure Sue Myrick, Pat McCrory, and others will enjoy this one. Myrick and McCrory, both from Charlotte, will certainly not like the fact that Raleigh would get funding to build another piece of 540 while I-485 gets delayed. The opponents of tolling 540 will not like this because it pretty...

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...

Earlier this week, there was an editorial column in the Raleigh News & Observer on the impacts the proposed toll road on lower-income drivers . Written by Julie McClintock, the column is decidedly against the toll highway and suggests that the annual $24 million in gap funding be better served for public transportation projects. An excerpt from the op/ed: ALTHOUGH THE TURNPIKE AUTHORITY HAS NOT YET DECIDED on a particular electronic tolling technology, it will probably require users to sign up for an account and obtain a transponder. This imposes several difficulties on low- income and minority drivers. * First, most electronic tolling systems require either a credit card or bank account just to sign up. Many low-income and minority drivers do not have these. A 2002 study at UNC showed that 45 percent of low-income families in the state do not have credit cards and that 25 percent of all minority families in the nation do not have any bank accounts. * Second, many toll road transp...

As Bob Malme noted in the comments section of the recent toll post on the Triangle Expressway , there may be a solution to the funding gap problems for various NC Turnpike Authority projects. The 21st Century Transportation Committee released their official plans on ways to improve funding and building highways. The key part of the proposal is the elimination of the controversial annual $172 million transfer of money from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund. This transfer of funds, written into the legislature over 10 years ago, has come under scrutiny as numerous construction projects have become delayed throughout the state. In particular, the Committee suggests that $75 million of the money go to the NCTA to help with gap funding. This would pretty much give the green light to the Triangle Expressway, Mid-Currituck Bridge and other proposed toll projects. The remainder of the money, $97 million, would go to issue a proposed $1.8 billion bond for highway and mass transporta...

This past Wednesday, Dr. Robert Rucho - Republican Candidate for NC Senate 39th district - was on WBT-AM in Charlotte to discuss the numerous delays in the completion of I-485 in Charlotte. Everything from funding issues to poor communication between the DOT and the contractor. Dr. Rucho is holding a public meeting on Tuesday, April 15 at the South Charlotte Banquet Center (909 Bryant Farm Road) to discuss the delays with Interstate 485. To hear the five minute interview - head to WBT's Morning News with Al Gardner & Stacey Simms website .

For all the bluster made by local politicians about the NCDOT's decision to push back the completion of I-485 two years in addition to delaying the widening of the Interstate in Southern Mecklenburg County, one would think that the general public would have had an equally loud outcry about these two transportation issues. Well, guess what...if you thought that...you were wrong. Now I know, I am nearly two months behind in reporting this story...but it's still worth mentioning today. At a January public hearing on the 2009-2015 NCDOT Draft Transportation Improvement Project List held in Charlotte, only four people showed up and not one spoke about the decision to delay Interstate 485. Furthermore, as of the January hearing date, the DOT had not received any letters or e-mail comments from the general public about the proposed pushback in construction. The only commentary that had been received at that point were from various politicians (which has been reported and commented ...

Yes, I am blogging like crazy today. I'm catching up after a few busy weeks and besides I don't leave for the Hurricanes game until 5:45. So blog, clean and laundry. Oh, and I keep getting interrupted by watching the State/Duke game. Anyways... Could Charlotte see HOT Lanes by 2020? Well, according to a study done by the City of Charlotte, the NCDOT, and PB Associates - there are a few excellent locations for the Toll High Occupancy Vehicle (High Occupancy Toll) lanes in the Greater Charlotte Area. Specifically, I-77 from Uptown Charlotte towards Iredell County and Charlotte appears to be the most likely choice for these lanes. And with reason, currently there is one free HOV lane in each direction on I-77 from the future I-485 interchange near Huntersville southwards to Uptown. The current HOV lanes begin and end near Brookshire Blvd. Another possible choice is Independence Blvd. (US 74) east of Uptown. As the highway has been converted to an urban expressway, the DOT ha...