N.C. legislators want to change Easley road plan

By SCOTT MOONEYHAM
Associated Press Writer
Apr 16, 2003 : 4:16 pm ET

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Gov. Mike Easley's plan to spend $700 million on highway improvements could face a roadblock -- legislators who want shift some of the money to pave rural dirt roads.

The Easley proposal was taken up Wednesday by the House Transportation Committee, with several members discussing changes that would take as much as $100 million and put it toward paving dirt roads.

"It will go a ways toward getting folks out of the mud," said Rep. Phil Haire, D-Jackson.

Called "N.C. Moving Ahead" by Easley, the plan calls for financing road improvement projects with bonds approved by voters in 1996 that were never sold. The bonds were intended to speed up projects paid for out of North Carolina's Highway Trust Fund, which was set up in 1989 to build urban loops, widen two-lane highways and pave rural dirt roads.

The plan would spend the money over two years to resurface roads, add turn lanes on two-lane highways, replace bridges and widen paved shoulders. About $70 million would go to public transportation, including regional rail and urban transit systems.

Since he announced the plan, Easley has been going around the state to promote it.

The House committee didn't vote on the bill or proposed changes on Wednesday. But it was clear that a number of its members support shifting some money to the paving of dirt roads.

Haire offered one amendment that would move $100 million to dirt road paving projects. Rep. Mark Hilton, R-Catawba, proposed another change that would take the $70 million in public transportation funds, plus an additional $30 million, for the same purpose.

"I think anytime that we can get funds to pave these unpaved roads, it's beneficial to the state," said Rep. George Holmes, R-Yadkin.

Currently, about 6,000 miles of public secondary roads in the state are unpaved.

State transportation officials say that roughly $170 million a year from dedicated highway taxes is already going toward paving rural roads.

They also point out that more than 10,000 miles of dirt roads have been paved since 1989, when the Highway Trust Fund was created partly for that purpose.

Supporters of the Easley plan say those numbers show the state is making progress paving dirt roads.

Neglected two-lane black tops that need repairs and improvements represent a far greater need, they argue.

"We have a horrible maintenance problem in this state," said Rep. Jim Crawford, D-Granville, a primary sponsor of the House version of the plan.

"If we don't look after the roads we've already paved ... we've lost the work we have already done."

The bill would also distribute the money based on the equity formulas already used by the state Department of Transportation.

"It will benefit both urban and rural areas of the state," Crawford said.

Despite Wednesday's debate over shifting some money, the plan generally enjoys broad support in the Legislature and is expected to be approved.

The House committee could vote on the bill early next week. It
would then go to the House floor for consideration.