Posted on 10/28/2017 5:09:15 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
North Carolinians agreed to borrow $2 billion last year to support higher education and infrastructure. Should they borrow a similar amount to more quickly build Interstate 87 and other important roads?
Some local officials say yes.
For more than a year, Interstate 87 has been a burning issue for elected officials in Pasquotank and surrounding counties. Creating that road from Raleigh to the Virginia state line would cost more than $1.3 billion, based on early estimates, and it could take decades to develop. Just widening U.S. Highway 17 to interstate standards from northern Pasquotank through Camden may cost almost $187 million, and it's not slated to start before 2027, according to the state's 2018-2027 transportation plan.
Angela Welsh, of the Albemarle Rural Planning Organization, helps county officials review and prioritize road projects. As she reported a year ago, I-87 projects score poorly under the state's “Strategic Mobility Formula” that helps decide road funding.
The argument from Welsh and others is that those projects are more than the sum of their parts. An interchange here and an overpass there might not seem to do much in small communities where congestion isn't a problem. Combine them all to make an interstate, however, and you can offer businesses a high-speed, non-stop corridor to move their goods.
That's part of why ARPO member and Pasquotank Commissioner Lloyd Griffin said he supported special funding to support I-87 development. The state's road funding formula continues to prioritize dollars towards congestion, meaning rural areas are hard-pressed to beat urban ones for state dollars. The road funding formula does commit certain amounts to each part of the state, but Griffin noted the northeast also has to spend major dollars maintaining ferries.
Elizabeth City City Manager Rich Olson similarly said Friday the state should provide funding outside of the road funding formula. Looking at I-87 projects collectively shows their value, he argued, also noting the state is working on an economic analysis that should reaffirm that.
Wayne Harris, director of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Economic Development Commission, also agreed with additional funding to accelerate I-87 construction.
“The sooner it happens, the faster we'll see that economic development boost,” Harris said.
He also added that the “path of the least resistance” for funding I-87 would be issuing bonds.
Can the state borrow money for I-87? Should it?
North Carolina has $2.25 billion in transportation debt capacity over the next five years, according to the latest annual “Debt Affordability Study” from the state treasurer. In reaching that number, the study notes that North Carolina has a goal of borrowing no more than 6 percent of available transportation revenues. Transportation debt is considered separately from general fund debt – which now includes the $2 billion “Connect NC” bonds that voters approved in spring 2016 for supporting higher education and infrastructure.
Rep. Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, said he's open to a transportation bond. I-87 is critical to tapping into the economic growth in Tidewater Virginia, he explained.
“North of us is exploding,” Steinburg said. “I think we need to move as quickly as prudently possible” in developing I-87, he said.
However, Steinburg noted, there would be politics to navigate in proposing another bond.
Were the General Assembly to consider a $2 billion road bond, other lawmakers would, understandably, expect funding for high-priority projects in their areas as well, he explained.
It's also unlikely they'd support devoting all $1.35 billion needed to develop all of I-87. That would commit more than half the state's five-year transportation debt capacity to just one project.
That means that even a major bond issue likely wouldn't fund the whole road. Agreeing with Pasquotank and Camden officials, Steinburg said he'd support prioritizing interstate development from Elizabeth City to Virginia. That would make Pasquotank and Camden's industrial parks more attractive, he noted.
Rep. Howard Hunter III, D-Hertford, also said he'd support issuing transportation bonds for I-87, as well as special appropriations, if needed.
“I totally agree that this project should be done faster,” Hunter said, adding he's been fighting for better infrastructure since taking office.
“I've found out it's not Republican versus Democrat — it's urban versus rural,” he said.
Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, declined to state in an email whether he'd support special appropriations or a bond issue for I-87. He noted, however, that the state has increased transportation funding by $320 million over the next two years in the State Transportation Improvement Plan, noting plans to upgrade U.S. 17 north of Elizabeth City in 2027.
Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram, D-Northampton, couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
Though local lawmakers may be receptive to special funding for I-87, legislative leaders may be less so. In an email, a spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he supports the reforms lawmakers made to how roads are funded and the additional $320 million put into the STIP. Lawmakers have worked to accelerate road funding, she noted.
She also wrote “Sen. Berger supports continuing this approach … without incurring additional debt and without undermining the fair and transparent process North Carolina now has in place.”
Fine, then stop charging us a per gallon gas tax.
Double taxation sucks!
Haven’t been in Liz City since 1965, but I loved that area and the folks living there.
I-87 would start in Norfolk going south into NC following US17 to Williamston and 64 from Williamston to Raleigh.
All of 64 is interstate Williamston west is ready with few dollars needed. The Virginia segment is partially ready. From Virginia to beyond Elizabeth City requires few dollars. From EC to Williamston will need lots of work except for several good by-passes which appear to be OK.
I know what you mean. I have a fondness for the people of Joplin, and Diamond, Missouri. Grew up in that area.
BTW: I read this as a new attempt at another toll road. I’m a lot more favorable to bonds for roads.
Those can be paid off over a long time, and that’s exactly what gas taxes should be parceled off for.
Local states would foot part of that bill, and gas taxes would fund the rest.
I believe that’s how our highway system was built from the 50s through at least the 90s.
The last time I was in Elizabeth City was back in 1974 when I passed through there on the way to Harvey Point, and I’ll bet it hasn’t changed much since then.
I’d like to go back up that way someday and just see how much the place has changed, along with Moyock, Coinjock, Sligo... but who’m I kidding? I’ll never do it.
Divert some money. They've done it before.
There is a US17 by-pass (interstate grade) several miles west of town with large shopping center developing and looks like home/apartment units close-by. Where the by-pass ends is near the Harvey Point road.
Not too sure. I don’t get up to that area anymore. Just an old country boy - emphasis on “old.”
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