Last February, you developed a vigorous agenda for improving transportation across the state. How would you summarize your success so far?
As Secretary of Transportation, it's my job to help the Governor fulfill his vision for One North Carolina, where every citizen counts and every community matters. A safe, well-maintained and integrated transportation system is crucial to this vision because it is crucial to our state's continued progress. And that's the bedrock of my agenda-bringing progress to North Carolina through quality transportation.
With this aim, the Department has accomplished much over this past year. Our top achievements in 2001 include increased funds for maintenance, preserving the state's natural resources, boosting rural transportation infrastructure, improved transportation delivery through design-build, and expanding passenger rail and public transportation.
There's been a lot of talk recently about transportation funding. What are some of the challenges the Department is facing?
It's true that we have serious challenges ahead on both the state and federal fronts. As we sort through all the numbers, my background as a CPA has certainly come in handy.
I'm sure you've heard about the state's budget shortfall, which, unfortunately, has worsened since last year. The good news is that the Department has been prepared for this crisis. Since last year, I have been working with staff to identify and implement cost-savings wherever possible. And my goal at DOT is to do more than just save money; I want to make sure that the department is running as efficiently as possible. As requested by Governor Easley, we'll also be participating in a number of cost-reducing measures, including a hiring freeze and limits on travel and purchasing.
I'm also very concerned about President Bush's new budget, which has serious consequences for our state. Under Bush's proposed budget, North Carolina's cut in transportation funds would amount to about $200 million less than was available in 2002-reducing our funds by nearly 30 percent. Such a reduction will not only adversely affect our ability to meet the travel demand in our state; this would also dramatically change our federal-aid highway program, DOT's budget and the state's economy. For example, this cut could result in the loss of 4,000 jobs in construction in North Carolina, at a time when our state faces the highest unemployment in over a decade.
I have written our Congressional delegation-and I have asked for their assistance to restore the obligation authority needed to maintain our transportation construction program. Citizens can help by contacting their congressional representatives and urging them to do all they can to restore these funds. Our efforts haven't stopped with Congress-we're also working closely with the Federal Highway Administration, public interest groups and the transportation industry to mitigate the effects of this reduction.
I want to assure everyone that, in spite of our funding challenges, we won't be scaling back our commitment to the citizens. Quality transportation is a vital part of the Governor's vision for One North Carolina, and I won't be satisfied until I've done all I can to make this happen.
What is the Department doing to address potholes? As a follow-up, how important is highway maintenance to our state's future?
Any time we have a snowfall of the severity we experienced in January, there will be damage to our highway system. When moisture enters tiny cracks and freezes, this can cause the asphalt to break up and create potholes in certain places. In those areas most affected by this snowfall, repairing these potholes is the number one priority of our county maintenance offices.
For the safety of the traveling public, we attack potholes first on high-volume roads like interstates and primary routes, which have the greatest impact on traffic. Each county generally has two patching crews, one that focuses on repairing potholes in predetermined locations and one that assesses potholes that are reported to us by citizens or municipalities.
Repairing potholes is very important work, but it's reactive in nature. That's why I've focused my attention on system-wide preventive measures, such as our new pavement preservation program. This is possible through a special provision passed by the General Assembly as part of the budget bill. This provision allows the Department to use $420 million from its cash balances for maintenance-the most significant transportation legislation passed since the Highway Trust Fund in 1989. The provision also provides $45 million for traffic signal improvements, $45 million for the planning and design of shelf projects as well as $120 million for public transportation.
Due to this legislation, citizens from across the state will see a major improvement in the quality of their highways.
The special provision will help with heavy maintenance work on our primary routes, but we must also secure more funds for routine maintenance throughout the entire system. We currently invest about $500 million each year for this work, but we will need about $785 million in the 2002-2003 fiscal year alone to meet all our maintenance needs.
What major additions to the interstate highway system are planned for North Carolina and when will they be implemented?
Much of the interstate system that has served our citizens so reliably over the years was constructed in the late 50s and early 60s. To help meet the current and future transportation needs of our citizens, we are upgrading and improving this system across the state. We're currently widening or rehabilitating pavement along Interstate 40 in the Triangle, as well as Interstate 85 in Durham and Charlotte. We're also widening Interstate 77 from 4 to 8 lanes in Charlotte.
A new interstate construction project that we're particularly proud of is Interstate 26 in Madison County. This project will close the gap between I-26 in South Carolina and I-81 in Tennessee, and essentially "open up" western North Carolina to the Mississippi River Valley. It will help our state by increasing tourism and industrial development. Also, it will provide a detour and emergency route for those traveling through western North Carolina. We expect construction to be complete in July 2003.
New interstate construction planned for the future includes I-73 and I-74, which will either be constructed on new locations or along existing alignments of other routes throughout the state. We're also continuing to move forward with our system of interstate loops, which include I-485 in Charlotte and I-540 in Raleigh.
Is DOT still committed to a system of loops around major metropolitan areas-like I-540 in Raleigh?
Yes. The Highway Trust Fund law enacted in 1989 directed the state to build seven specific urban loops. Unless the law is changed, we will continue to work toward achieving the goals of that legislation. We are making every effort to work with the local communities on the location and timing of these improvements to best serve their local urban development goals as well as regional travel movements.
There are in addition, other areas that have asked us to develop loops or bypasses that were not identified in the trust fund legislation. For example, we are working with Fayetteville and Boone to plan these projects as well as identifying potential sources of revenue for their construction.
What's the status of I-540 in Raleigh?
Last year we opened the longest section of this highway to date, the 4.3 mile-section from Creedmoor Road to Falls of the Neuse. The next section to open will be from Falls of Neuse to U.S. 1, which will be around August.
What are you doing to reduce congestion in our urban areas?
We have a number of initiatives in place to reduce congestion. First of all, we are working to improve traffic flow.
We're also moving forward with Design-Build, an innovative process that allows us to build much-needed construction projects much more quickly than traditional methods. We're using this process on 3 projects--the widening of I-77 in Charlotte in northern Mecklenburg County, the widening of I-26 in Henderson County and construction of the Knightdale Bypass.
The Knightdale Bypass will run from U.S. 64 Business in Wendell to Interstate 440 in Raleigh.
Another way that we're improving traffic flow is through new technologies, specifically, the application of technology to transportation, what is known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (or ITS).
North Carolina is also embarking on its first "Smart Work Zone" projects along I-95 and I-40.
In support of our ITS initiatives this year, the General Assembly passed legislation that would provide $45 million during the next 3 years to construct and install high-end technologies such as closed loop traffic signal systems, vehicle detection technology and incident management systems.
We are also working to reduce congestion through mass transit.
What are your plans for expanding public transportation and rail across the state?
The future for more transportation choices has never been brighter in North Carolina. Many citizens, particularly those in our rural areas, depend on public transportation for critical services. We are continuing to support these services and help them thrive through the provision of operating and administrative funds.
We are also making great strides in reintroducing passenger rail across the state. The additional $84 million appropriated in the budget gave public transportation a 100 percent increase in funds from last year.
In March we unveiled our plan to bring passenger rail back to Western North Carolina.
In addition, as part of the special provision passed by the General Assembly, we will be providing $120 million during the next 3 years to expand rail and public transportation across the state.
Is there a future for high-speed rail in North Carolina?
The answer to this question is a resounding yes. North Carolina has been actively involved in developing such a system for some time. In fact, we have been the lead state in working with host railroads and other states to develop an interstate network of high speed rail passenger services in the Southeast.
How have you boosted transportation infrastructure in rural areas?
In September, we announced our first rural transportation planning organization or RPO-the Mid-Carolina RPO.
The announcement of the Mid-Carolina RPO was the first of what will be many such events across the state.
This effort is a partnership between the counties as well as the local MPO-in every way, these RPOs are true to the spirit of One North Carolina. More efficient transportation planning in our rural regions will improve economic development across the state, therefore benefiting all North Carolinians.
What is the Department doing to help prevent litter?
In the fight against litter in 2001, the NCDOT spent over $10 million and picked up 12 million pounds of litter. Much of these funds went to the Department of Correction for inmate labor.
We use as much inmate and Community Service Work Program labor as is available to us. Primarily, the medium security inmates are used for litter pick up. NCDOT pays $5 per hour per inmate. Of this, the inmates earn $1 per day, and the remainder goes to pay the guards and transportation costs. We are always encouraged when the judges assign litter pick up specifically as part of community service. Last year, citizens participating in this program collected 274,755 bags of litter.
Uncovered loads contribute an estimated 50% of all litter along the roadsides. During the last legislative session, a bill was introduced that would have strengthened the laws for unsecured and uncovered loads. We were disappointed that that portion of the bill did not make it though but will continue to ask for stronger laws and tougher enforcement of our current laws.
Citizens can help us combat this unsightly problem by reporting litter violations through the department's "Swat a Litterbug" program. Citizens can report violations by calling 1-877-DOT-4YOU or by accessing an online report form available at: www.ncdot.org.
Efficiency is very important to you. How have you made the Department more efficient?
As a CPA and business owner, I have always been a strong advocate of efficiency. And here at DOT, we have a particular responsibility to be accountable to the taxpayers, especially during such a lean budget year. Improving efficiency not only stretches our transportation dollars, it can also improve productivity.
One of my first actions after my appointment was to ask all employees to share with me any ideas they may have for improving efficiency. And I've discovered that our employees share my interest and that they are a great source of new ideas. We're working to implement several suggestions and we also have a number of initiatives in place now that will not only improve operations but also save money.
I'll start with our Business System Improvement Project, what we call BSIP.
Our successful teleworking program-TeleDOT-is a prime example of how people and technology can work together to improve efficiency.
How are you making sure that all citizens have a voice in the transportation decision-making process?
In addition to expanded participation from citizens in our rural areas-which is now possible through the RPOs-there are many other opportunities for public involvement. Our Public Involvement & Community Studies Unit conducts more than 100 project-related public hearings each year, including information workshops and public hearings.
Citizens are also encouraged to help shape the future of their communities by participating in the development of the department's seven-year Transportation Improvement Plan. The TIP is the Department's blueprint for statewide transportation projects -- including highways, bicycles, public transportation, ferry, rail, aviation and the Governor's Highway Safety Program.
We're currently developing the draft document for the next plan, the 2004-2010 TIP. Last fall we held 15 meetings across the state to give citizens the opportunity to provide recommendations for projects that they would like to be included in this draft plan. Right now, we're in the process of meeting with metropolitan planning organizations across the state to gather their input. We plan to release the draft plan in June of this year.
What are you doing to protect natural resources?
As a native of a small town in Johnston County, I have always been a champion of our state's great natural resources. I have made a commitment to not only protecting these resources but also improving them, starting at the highest level.
On January 29 at a special event near Raeford, I announced the department's acquisition of 2,500 acres in Hoke County for a preserve for the federally-endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
This partnership is just one more example of my commitment to improving the state's natural resources, starting at the highest level.
Securing timely environmental permits is one of the Department's greatest challenges; however, we have made much progress in streamlining this process. In fact, our streamlining efforts have been selected as a national pilot project.
What is the Department doing to improve safety?
Safety is another one of my priorities-for our workers as well as the public. We were saddened last year by the death of one of our own-Roscoe Narron, who served this department faithfully for six years and had most recently worked as an Incident Management Assistance Patrol or IMAP driver. Roscoe's death reminded us of the importance of motorists staying alert while driving. Although he wasn't killed in a designated work zone-for IMAP drivers like Roscoe all of the patrol area is a work zone.
For stranded motorists, our IMAP drivers in the yellow trucks with the blue stripes are truly guardian angels.
In honor of Roscoe and all our other DOT workers, we're also continuing to increase awareness of the importance of work zone safety.
We're also highlighting the importance of bicycle helmet use.
What are your plans for the rest of 2002?
As our accomplishments demonstrate, 2001 was a landmark year for transportation in North Carolina.
The good news is that 2002 will be no different; in fact, we're raising the bar another notch.
We'll be: