Latest news with #NorthCarolinaBoardofTransportation
Axios
3 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Cotham's Mecklenburg County transportation bill advances in N.C. General Assembly
Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham's bill for Mecklenburg County's long-sought 1% transportation sales tax was heard for the first time in the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday. Why it matters: The House Committee on Transportation's discussion was generally supportive and ended with a favorable review of House Bill 948 — also known as the P.A.V.E. Act — then swiftly referred it to the finance committee. This marks another step forward for Mecklenburg County's ambitions to build more rail, improve the bus system and reduce congestion. Catch up quick: Cotham's bill, filed in April, would give Mecklenburg County the authority to put a 1% sales tax on the November election ballot. If voters approve it, the tax will generate $19.4 billion over 30 years for road and transportation projects — not including leveragable federal dollars. Cotham's original version of the bill set a spending formula of 40% for road projects and 60% for transit projects, intending to create more flexibility to build rail than another version of the bill that capped rail spending at 40%. Yes, but: Cotham made changes to the bill before the hearing on Wednesday. Now, 40% would be spent on road projects, 40% would go toward rail and 20% would fund the bus service. This is the same breakdown as the other bill, filed earlier in February by Republican Senators Bill Rabon, David Craven and Vickie Sawyer. Between the lines: Leaders in Matthews, which is part of Cotham's district, have been opposed to a transportation plan that does not allocate enough money to build the east-west Silver Line light rail to Matthews. It's unclear whether removing the 40% cap on rail would still have been enough for that project to become a reality, considering the county also wants to build the Red Line commuter train to the northern towns. No representative from Matthews was at the meeting to oppose the bill. Rep. Brenden Jones said Matthews has committed to working with legislators to find a happy medium. What they're saying: Several developers and prominent business leaders traveled to Raleigh to speak in favor of the bill at the meeting. They included developers Peter Pappas and Tim Sittema, former chairman of the North Carolina Board of Transportation Ned Curran and Charlotte Regional Business Alliance chair David Longo. "Transportation and traffic issues top the list of concerns we hear about every day," Sittema said. "Congestion is a huge problem. Recently, we had a project where we were asked to enhance or improve seven different intersections nearby, (and) that was not viable for us." The bottom line: While local legislatures voice enthusiasm for the bill's momentum and dedication from the region, those from other parts of the state are acknowledging that it is ultimately up to the local voters to decide.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NC plans $2.5 million driver alerts for I-40, I-95 construction zones; system would be ‘eyes free' and ‘hands free'
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina transportation officials are pursuing a new $2.5 million driver alert system for more than 100 miles of Interstate 95 and Interstate 40 construction zones. As many North Carolina drivers know, traffic on interstates in the Tar Heel state can occasionally come to an inexplicable abrupt halt — just as cars, motorcycles and huge tractor-trailers are hurtling along the highway at 70 mph. The new system at first will be targeted in the construction areas of I-95 south of Fayetteville for 81 miles and I-40 near the Tennessee state line for 31 miles, according to the NCDOT. Illegally tall truck hit, damaged bridge over I-95 in Harnett Co., NCDOT says The idea is that it will address last-minute lane closures and odd stops along the highway — called anomalies. The project — officially called 'Automated Actionable Road Anomalies' — also will let drivers know to slow down for items in the road (such as things that might fall from a truck, or come loose from a bridge or be thrown onto a highway). The project was first unveiled two years ago but apparently did not move along. Earlier this month, the North Carolina Board of Transportation approved extending the project's grant until October of this year. Much of the money comes from a U.S. DOT grant. Large bump emerges on I-95 near Smithfield in Johnston County It's not clear how the actual alerts will work because the system requirement says notifications will be made to drivers 'hands free and eyes free.' The overall plan says that the system will 'leverage and integrate public agency and privatesector datasets, advanced algorithms, and open data feeds.' NC teens threw rocks onto cars on I-95 in Cumberland County, officials say Traffic data is already gathered for NCDOT by a vendor called INRIX, which can detect so-called 'hard braking' and traffic back-ups. It's not clear if the system will show images of traffic problems — there are already very few cameras along work zones. The system alerts will go to commercial truck drivers and to various traveler apps, such as Waze, Google Maps and Apple Maps, according to the NCDOT. The alerts could be a big help for tractor-trailers, which need more time to slow down, the NCDOT says. Exposed cables on major bridge over I-95 in Smithfield Also, crashes involving tractor-trailers can close highways for extended periods and contribute to secondary crashes, such as rear-end collisions. 'A fully loaded tractor-trailer traveling at 65 mph takes 66 percent longer to stop than a passenger car, according to the trucking industry,' the NCDOT says. It's not known when the system might begin for regular North Carolina drivers on construction-plagued portions of I-95 or I-40 highways. A date has not been set for when the entire system might rollout statewide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
