The Virginian-Pilot
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State funding for the Currituck mid-county bridge was included in the budget despite reports earlier this month that it might not be.
For the next three years state funding for the project will continue at $15 million annually then increase to $28 million a year, said Schorr Johnson, spokesman for N.C. Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare.
Earlier this month, language in the North Carolina House of Representatives budget appeared to transfer the bridge money to other projects. Basnight said the senate would not pass a budget without state contribution to build the five mile long toll bridge across the Currituck Sound connecting the mainland to the Outer Banks. The bridge project could cost between $650 million 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.
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OF COURSE IT'S PORK
This is the biggest pig Basnight promised to developers 20 years ago. Don't tell me it is not pork! The federal government would not even give the state the TIFIA loan because it doesn't come close to satisfying the criteria for the loan. 1 billion for a 2 lane bridge to serve the developers interests is insane. How will this bridge improve the congestion on rt. 12 once the throngs arrive.....IT WON'T.
Enough of the studies!
Anyone who has had to deal with the traffic on the road to Corolla and Duck knows how bad it can get. If there ever was an emergency where the people there needed to evacuate, it would be a nightmare. It's time to stop wasting money on the studies and get to building the bridge!
come on
If it were up to me I would not build it way to much money. While in a sense this is not a "bridge to nowhere" it is a bridge to a very small community aside from tourist season.
OK
So with that way of thinking, the bridge(s) to Key West, or the bridge to Coronado in San Diego, or the Bonner Bridge to Hatteras would also not meet your criteria. Bridges serve a purpose, and if tourist money is the draw, along with hurricane evacuation, I don't see the issue.
Regardless of view, it is a
Regardless of view, it is a toll bridge. The money will be re-paid. People will gladly pay the fee than spend the money and time sitting in a standstill. The bridge will pay for itself and those involved will profit from it.
This is a project that will work. You cannot knock the projects that work because of other government endeavors that do not. This is not pork, but rather a viable project.