Posted on 12/28/2016 1:10:08 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
On Tuesday, the Henry County Board of Supervisors voted 5-1 to renew the county’s contract with Alcalde and Fay LLC, which advocates for Interstate 73 on the state and federal level on the county’s behalf.
Often when there is a split vote, it is tempting to pick a side.
In this case, however, I agree with both sides. There are strong arguments for renewing the contract, and there are strong arguments against renewing the contract, but ultimately, the board made the appropriate call.
The lone dissenting vote came from Collinsville District Supervisor Joe Bryant, who argued that he didn’t believe the county should spend the money lobbying for I-73, as he considers I-73 to be at a stalemate.
In this space, we have written often about the likelihood of I-73’s construction. Most in Henry County would agree that I-73 would be a boon to the area. The question is, how do we build it?
An interstate highway costs billions of dollars, and right now, those billions of dollars simply are not in the coffers. The money to build I-73 just isn’t there. On top of that, from both a state and national perspective, our existing infrastructure is rapidly aging and in need of repairs. It’s hard to justify building a new interstate when the roads that would feed into it are in desperate need of TLC.
Bryant expressed doubt that the county would see any real benefit to extending the contract with Alcalde and Fay. That’s not to say that Alcalde and Fay isn’t doing its job – as Henry County Administrator Tim Hall pointed out, they have done a fine job creating awareness of the region’s interest in I-73 and bringing different parties to the table to discuss the highway – but the firm has an uphill battle ahead of it.
There is, however, an argument for renewing the contract, and it’s the argument that ultimately led to the board’s affirmative vote.
On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump spoke often of his $1 trillion infrastructure plan. There are, at this point, no real specifics regarding the plan; he has simply promised that his administration will invest $1 trillion in infrastructure early in his presidency.
What he means by “infrastructure” is not completely clear, as he has also listed schools and hospitals among infrastructure improvements. What is clear, however, is that this promise has long been an important part of his campaign, and if he is able to make good on the promise, this could be the prime time to have lobbyists in Richmond and Washington advocating for I-73.
Where this $1 trillion will come from and how it will be disbursed remains to be seen. It may not happen at all. It may be yet another example of an impossible presidential campaign promise, sort of like the school kid running for class president who promises that the water fountains will be filled with Coca-Cola once he is elected.
However, there is a chance it could happen, and if Henry County were to cease its lobbying efforts for I-73 mere months before a tidal wave of federal road money swept across the nation, we would all feel pretty foolish.
Based on that logic, the board agreed to the one-year contract extension, to the tune of $1,500 per month, or $18,000 over the course of the year.
A total of $18,000 sounds like a lot of money; it’s certainly a lot of money to me. But in the context of the total county budget, it’s a drop in the bucket. If the gamble works, the benefit to the county could literally be worth billions.
Extending the contract for another year was a pragmatic move for the county. Whether the county should extend the contract again next December, however, depends on the results we see over the next 12 months.
May I ask where this I-73 starts and where does it end?
Interstate 73 (I-73) is an intrastate Interstate Highway, located within the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of a longer planned corridor, defined by various federal laws to run from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, but only the part south of West Virginia is under study as of 2012.
As per wiki
I thought this was dead. The Michigan leg, includes updating US 223 from Toledo to Jackson. There were home made signs along the route a few years ago against I-73. Don’t see this happening. We can barely maintain the freeways we have.
The wiki entry posts more details. I only posted the part responsive to his question. Wiki noted Michigan does not plan to build this boondoggle.
Is it a county-by-county thing? Seems they ought to build the road, call it county highway 73, then when it can be interstate they can apply for that.
From what others have said it’s state-by-state....although if counties can block the road, so to speak, it should offend your sensibilities if you have interstate 73 through a few counties, then it ends, then it picks back up, etc.
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