Good morning and thanks to Mac for his outstanding work on the Board of Transportation.
I am excited to come home this morning to celebrate a great milestone for our city.
I would like to recognize the legislators who could join us today.
You'll hear from them later.
And I want to recognize folks like my friend and neighbor Dan Kinlaw and his family, who like many of you, have worked tirelessly to ensure that our vision of a bridge over the Cape Fear and a Loop around Fayetteville came to pass.
Today we cut the ribbon to officially open the first portion of Fayetteville's Outer Loop connecting U.S. 401 (Ramsey Street) and River Road.
We've already completed two projects in anticipation of opening this 3-mile stretch today, the connector from U.S. 301 to U.S. 13 and the bridge on River Road.
As you all know, the Fayetteville Outer Loop is one of the most needed and highly anticipated projects in this region.
Once complete, the 40-mile loop will run from west of N.C. 210 (Murchinson Road) to I-95.
More importantly, it will provide Fayetteville with a superior network of roads similar to those found in Raleigh and Charlotte.
The Loop will also help improve access to Ft. Bragg and points west-and provide motorists with a safer, faster and more efficient trip to and from anywhere within Fayetteville.
Employers like Kelly Springfield can celebrate because the Outer Loop will reduce the commute time of their employees by two-thirds-about 30 minutes- and give a quicker and shorter route to I-95.
In fact, the bridge on River Road provides a much-needed additional northern crossing of the Cape Fear river for employees traveling across the river.
This is great news for Fayetteville's largest employer-as well as other businesses.
And since the Outer Loop will help reduce congestion and harmful emissions, the air in Fayetteville will be cleaner-and safer to breathe.
Above all else, the Fayetteville Outer Loop gives us better access to everything that matters-to our jobs, homes, schools and the businesses we rely on every day for ourselves and our families.
In addition to this portion, crews are busy at work on two additional segments which will open by 2005 including the part east of River Road to west of U.S. 301 and the portion from west of U.S. 301 to east of I-95.
As you may imagine, the entire Outer Loop project is a massive endeavor that takes the expertise and cooperation of many individuals.
That's why it's very important that we acknowledge all the key players.
At this time, I'd like to recognize the following legislators and invite those who would like to make remarks up to the podium.
(MAC WILL RETURN TO PODIUM AND ASK YOU AND LEGISLATORS TO JOIN HIM CUTTING THE RIBBON. PIO STAFF WILL GIVE YOU SCISSORS AND LEAD YOU TO RIBBON.)