Thank you, Jim, for that introduction.

I’m honored to join you today for such a meaningful celebration.

It’s good to see all of you here---and I’m especially glad to see Congressman David Price.

David and I are good friends who go back to the 1970’s when I was his student at Duke and to 1987 when I became his Chief of Staff.

He is a committed champion of transportation issues in this state---and I’m grateful for the chance to work with him again now that I’m at the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

We’re proud of our involvement with SmartCommute @ RTP and activities like today’s Jammin’ In the Park celebration.

In 1998, DOT met with RTP leaders to develop a four-pronged plan for congestion management.

We recognized that congestion was getting worse—and that while we couldn’t eliminate it totally--there were steps we could take together to manage it.

The plan called for roadway improvements, public transit within the Park, Transportation Demand Management by RTP leaders and the development of an integrated land use and transportation plan.

While the plan is now a "work in progress," I do have some good news to report on several short-term solutions that are helping right now.

So far we’ve

• widened Wade Avenue to I-540 from 6 lanes to 8 lanes;
  
• added a left turn lane along N.C. 55;
  
• improved signal operations along N.C. 55, N.C. 54 and U.S. 70 and other major roads leading to the Park;

In addition:

• In 1999, DOT opened the Triangle Management Center, which helps reduce congestion by providing real-time travel information to traffic engineers and the public.
  
• In December 1999, the Leesville Road to U.S. 70 portion of I-540 opened, and in December 2000, a new section opened from Leesville Road to Creedmoor Road opened, improving access for Raleigh commuters to I-40.
  
• The next section—Six Forks Road to Falls of the Neuse Road—is scheduled to open this month.
  
• Widen I-40 from I-540 to the Durham Freeway.
  
• Widen I-40 from the Park to Chapel Hill’s 15/501 interchange beginning this fall.

We are seeking funding to continue roadway and signal system improvements throughout the area during the next five years.

In addition to highway improvements, we continue to work with municipalities and local governments on reducing transportation demand and developing an integrated land use plan.

Durham County and City have successfully adopted a Transportation Demand Management Ordinance, which is already making an impact for commuters from Durham to RTP.

Cary and Durham have already begun developing plans for higher density housing closer to the Park.

And the Triangle Transit Authority is now identifying areas for residential development around potential transit stations in the Park.

These are just some of the things that we are doing together.

The role of Smart Commute @ RTP is becoming more critical each day.

Traffic jams are becoming a way of life across the country and the results are disastrous.

According to an article in U.S. News & World Report, the average driver spends the equivalent of nearly a full workweek each year stuck in traffic.

No amount of widening of roads is going to solve this problem.

We are looking at every possible way to help get that traffic under control.

Last April, DOT partnered with regional transportation agencies to complete the first phase of a congestion management study for I-40.

Phase I reviewed a broad range of strategies for addressing congestion in the RTP region and identified those that would have the greatest potential for success.

These include traditional capacity improvements, managed lanes like HOV, transit system improvements, exclusive turn lanes at intersections and incident management systems.

These improvements range from moving traffic more efficiently to reducing demand for travel in single-occupant vehicles.

We are currently in Phase II of the study, and are identifying short-term, low cost projects as well as more extensive improvements which will be longer term.

North Carolina ranks 11th in poor air quality, mostly due to vehicles idling on congested highways during the summer months.

It is imperative that we start using other alternatives to the car as a first step to help alleviate this problem.

If we don’t, we are in jeopardy of losing our federal funds as our friends in Atlanta did two years ago, making it even harder to work on solving the congestion challenges of the Triangle region.

I want to thank all of you for attending Jammin’ In The Park.

Your presence here shows your commitment to improving the quality of life for every citizen who lives and works in this region.

At DOT we’ll continue to do our part.

We pledge to do what we can to strengthen our partnerships with Smart Commute @ RTP and other organizations so that we can ensure a bright future for our future generations.

Thank you.