Before endorsing its final report this morning, the General Assembly’s 21st Transportation Committee learned that Obama administration bailout/stimulus legislation could generate as much as $2 billion to $4 billion for North Carolina transportation projects.
The money would have to head toward projects that can move quickly, perhaps starting within 90 to 180 days of federal approval.
“If that does in fact come into being, there will be a lot of opportunity for North Carolina to be in line and in position to move forward with some of the needs that we have identified during our work,” said committee Chairman Brad Wilson.
The need to move quickly raised a red flag for Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston. “I know President-elect Obama has said use it or lose it,” Hoyle said. “Now DOT to get in a hurry on anything, I’ve never seen it. What’s realistic? How much stuff [have] we got on the shelf if we get a few hundred million dollars or a billion dollars thrown to the state and we’ve got to spend it on worthwhile, needed projects? … Realistically, have we got enough projects ready to go with environmental permits ? with everything ? so that we could use it and not lose it?”
“It’s big money, and having things in the pipeline ready to go is absolutely critical,” Wilson responded.
N.C. transportation board member Nina Szlosberg assured Hoyle that the state has $5 billion of highway road projects and $1 billion of transit projects identified, including a number of smaller projects that generate fewer environmental hurdles. “We’ve got more projects than we will ever have money to do, and these are so-called shelf projects ready to go.”
Hoyle raised another concern. “A lot of things are ready, but, ‘Oh, all we lack is a permit from DENR,'” he said. “That could be 20 years in the making.”
“Obviously, this committe would urge the Department of Transportation to … put the state in the best position it can possibly be to use it and not lose it, [however many] projects that may be,” Wilson said. “This is not just about highways. It’s about rail. It’s about mass transit. There are component parts of the proposal that North Carolina needs to be in a position to use and not lose as well.”
