N.C. House removes funding for Currituck bridge

The North Carolina House of Representatives' proposed budget leaves out $15 million for the Currituck mid county bridge.

"It endangers the whole project," said Schorr Johnson, spokesman for state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare. Basnight will not support the House budget without bridge funding, Johnson said.

Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, a House member representing Currituck and other local counties, was in meetings and could not be reached for comment.

The proposed House budget moves the $15 million to a "mobility fund" for state road projects that relieve congestion, Johnson said, but without the $15 million, private investors could back out. The spending plan also moves $39 million from the Monroe Connector, another project of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, he said.

The Senate's version of the budget includes the funding.

In 2008, the General Assembly agreed to set aside $15 million annually toward the bridge that would connect the Currituck mainland to Corolla at a cost ranging from $600,000 to more than $1 billion.

The Turnpike Authority agreed last year to partner with a private group headed by ACS Infrastructure Development, a subsidiary of a firm based in Spain. The ACS partners, collectively known as Currituck Development Group LLC, are also investors.

The project, the subject of debate for 20-plus years, has been delayed by funding and environmental issues. More recently, the bridge appeared to be on its way to completion by 2014 through the use of tolls, private investment and public funds.

The lawmakers aim to vote on the budget by June 30.