Managing development along Strategic Highway Corridors is essential for achieving the long-term vision for each facility. When a federally-funded new or expanded roadway is planned, an approval process conducted according to NEPA determines whether the transportation corridor is acceptable, given its environmental impacts. This process aims to minimize negative impacts on the environment made by the final alignment of a corridor. Under the current system, acquisition of the land needed for the right-of-way of the transportation facility is intended to begin once the alignment is approved according to NEPA. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration restricts right-of-way acquisitions before the NEPA process is completed, with the intent of avoiding prejudicing the environmental approval process. However, NEPA approval of a corridor can take many years; if land within the planned right-of-way is not set aside during this time period, the corridor may be developed, which may require a new location to be found for the corridor and could direct the corridor into environmentally sensitive areas, or areas in or near neighborhoods that will be negatively affected by the roadway. Relocation also requires that plans be redrawn and project development be postponed, increasing the cost of the project. Alternatively, if the corridor is not relocated, development that occurs within it will require transportation agencies to pay much higher prices for land that has been improved while the NEPA process has been underway. Thus, the very process that is meant to ensure that corridor alignments are appropriate may allow private development to occur within the preferred alignment, directing transportation improvements onto sensitive sites or costing the Department far more than is necessary.

In order to avoid development of properties within planned rights-of-way, state, regional, and entities must find ways to protect key sections of Strategic Highway Corridors until improvements are implemented without contravening the requirements of either NEPA or FHWA. This can include finding ways to preserve the corridor without acquiring the properties, such as exercising police power or reaching agreements with property owners. Alternatively, the Department or its partners can find ways to acquire key properties within the parameters of NEPA, such as following completion of the first tier of a Tiered EIS.

Whether corridor protection occurs through acquisition in accordance with NEPA requirements or through methods that are not restricted by NEPA, it is key to avoiding the environmental and capital costs of delaying any control over the planned corridor until NEPA approvals are completed. While corridor protection is not appropriate or necessary in all cases, it is crucial along Corridors likely to experience significant development pressure in the near future.

NCDOT will work with its partners to develop and refine various tools, techniques, and strategies for preserving the Strategic Highway Corridors. This includes various measures to obtain control of or protect the right-of-way for planned improvements and to preserve the mobility, safety, and capacity of existing roadways through the use of access management techniques. Additionally, the Department will investi-gate statewide initiatives to purchase control of access and acquire advanced rights-of-way along these corridors.