Many years before it will collect a single dime in revenue, the N.C. Turnpike Authority might expand its scope, thanks to legislation pending in the General Assembly. The proposed changes would allow the authority to build and operate six, instead of three, toll roads in the state and comes in response to the authority identifying at least four potentially viable routes for turnpikes.

Building roads faster

The NCTA was created in 2002. The idea was to build certain expensive new roads sooner than would otherwise be possible using traditional funding sources. North Carolina allocates road money through funding formulas that limit the amount of money available to any particular region. A major new road can consume a considerable portion of a region’s available funds for years and would necessarily limit the money available for other area highways.

The authority can issue bonds to pay for the construction of a road. The bonds are repaid beginning when the road opens from toll receipts. When the bonds are paid off, the tolls would end. North Carolina law does not count most of the money spent on toll roads against a region’s usual funding allocation, those making turnpikes akin to a bonus.

The original legislation allowed the NCTA to build three toll roads. Of the three projects, one must be at least partially in a county with a population over 650,000 as of the 2000 census. Another of the roads can’t be in a county with a population over 650,000 per the 2000 census. In 2000, Mecklenburg was the only county in the state with a population exceeding 650,000.

The statute creating the NCTA specifically prohibits the tolling of an existing road and specifies that a free alternative must exist to any toll road.

The authority could also identify and conduct preliminary design work on three other potential turnpikes. Actually building these roads would have required additional approval from the General Assembly.

The new legislation would eliminate this requirement and let the authority proceed directly to building the extra turnpikes. The NCTA itself recommended this change, after identifying four routes it considered worthy and did not want to leave one out for now.

While the use of tolls to build any or all of these highways would eliminate delays caused by a lack of funding, many other factors can slow down road construction.

State and federal rules require that a number of public hearings be held and that numerous agencies issue permits before a single shovelful of earth can be moved. Design and land acquisition also typically takes a number of years to complete.

As a result, even with the ability to borrow money to pay for construction, none of the potential toll roads is expected to be ready for motorists until 2010 at the earliest. For several of the projects, completion could be well after 2010 even if built as a toll road.

Potential toll routes

The four potential turnpike routes the NCTA has identified so far are:

  • The Gastonia East-West Connector (Garden Parkway), a third major roadway over the Catawba River linking Mecklenburg and Gaston counties. The proposed turnpike would run from near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport through southern Gaston County and then north toward Dallas. The population requirement in the legislation was aimed at ensuring this road would be built. The 21.5-mile road is budgeted at $289 million.
  • The Cape Fear Skyway, in New Hanover and Brunswick counties, a 9.5 miles extension of Interstate 140 (Wilmington Outer Loop or US 17 Wilmington Bypass) from U.S. 17 near Town Creek to U.S. route 421 in Wilmington. The “skyway” in the name refers to the most expensive element of the proposed project, a massive bridge over the Cape Fear River. The road would cost about $300 million.
  • The Monroe Connector, a partial bypass around Monroe. Rapid growth in Union County and the associated daily commuter flows causes heavy backups on U.S. 74 between Charlotte and Monroe. The proposed route would run 11.5 miles from I-485 at U.S. 74 (Independence Blvd) in Mecklenburg County to U.S. 601 north of Monroe. The connector could open by 2010 if built as a toll road. If built using regular state highway funds, work likely would not even start until 2018. It is estimated to cost $193 million.
  • The Triangle Parkway, a 3.2-mile southern extension of N.C. 147 (Durham Freeway) between I-40 and the future I-540 in Durham and Wake counties, which would cost about $80 million.

Lowrey is a contributing editor of Carolina Journal..