Remarks for Secretary Tippett
Surry County Elected Officials Roundtable
Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2007 at 6 p.m.
Cedarbrook Country Club
State Road
Introduction
Good evening.
Craig, thank you for that kind introduction.
I'd like to also thank you and the Surry County Board of Commissioners for inviting me today, and for your gracious hospitality.
Mike Pettyjohn, NCDOT's Division Engineer for this area is also here tonight. Board of Transportation member Arnold Lakey regrets he was unable to attend.
Both these men do a wonderful job taking care of the transportation needs of Surry County.
Before I begin, I'd like to mention that you should each have a copy of the new State Transportation Map and the department's 2007 Agenda at your seats.
I appreciate this opportunity to update you on our activities.
Your service to the citizens is a prime reason that Surry County, like the rest of North Carolina, is becoming an increasingly popular place to live and work.
Transportation and Growth
While this growth provides numerous opportunities, it is also placing an increasing demand on our transportation system.
To put the situation in perspective:
· North Carolina's population grew from 5 million in 1970 to 8.5 million in 2004, and is expected to grow by 4 million more people in the next 25 years.
· Vehicle miles traveled more than tripled from 30 billion in 1970 to 94 billion in 2004, and are expected to increase 50 percent more by 2020.
· Truck freight hauled in North Carolina is projected to increase to 808 million tons by 2020, a 190-percent increase since 1998.
Many of the state's highways were built as farm-to-market roads and were not designed or built to handle the heavy traffic volumes they carry today.
As a result, an increasing number of the state's most important corridors need significant upgrades. This includes our interstate highway system, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.
Other Factors
There are several factors besides growth that make this situation especially challenging.
In North Carolina, unlike many other states, a major portion of the burden to fund local transportation improvements rests on the state level rather than the local level. We have more than 79,000 miles of state-maintained highway. Only Texas has as many.
According to a recent census report, North Carolina ranks 19th nationally in per capita highway spending on the state level, but only 49th in those same expenditures on the local level.
Construction inflation continues to increase by about 45 percent over the last three years alone-making it more costly for us to complete needed projects. Unfortunately, these costs are continuing to rise.
Gov. Easley and the General Assembly recognize the strain placed on the department's budget and they built $200.7 million into this year's budget to reduce the annual transfer from DOT's Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund. They also provided an additional $18 million to the Highway Fund for maintenance.
This means that more of our transportation revenues will actually go toward transportation improvements.
Other Steps We are Taking
While we are working hard to make the most of our current revenue, we understand that our state can no longer rely on traditional funding sources. We must look hard at ways to help generate new funds to better meet the diverse demands of our state.
One of these new funding sources is the use of Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles, or GARVEE bonds.
These bonds allow us to borrow against future federal funding, accelerating our transportation dollars to finish projects sooner and reduce inflation-related costs.
The General Assembly has authorized DOT to issue $950 million in GARVEE bonds, and we are currently working diligently to determine candidate projects. We are also examining the possibility of using these bonds to complete our most-needed interstate maintenance improvements.
The department is also looking at ways to partner with private industry to give further options for building and maintaining mutually beneficial highway facilities.
We are currently pursuing legislation that would expand our ability to form such partnerships.
As Surry County leaders, I urge you to help this community think "outside the box" about ways you can contribute to transportation improvements.
Equity Formula
While we continue to search out new avenues for transportation funding, we must ensure that our current funding can meet the transportation needs across the state. To accomplish this goal, we base funding on the equity formula.
This formula was part of the Highway Trust Fund law enacted by the General Assembly in 1989 and requires that Statewide Transportation Improvement Program funds be distributed equitably among seven regions of the state over a seven-year period.
The distribution is based 50 percent on the population of a region, 25 percent on the number of miles of intrastate highways left to complete in a region and the remaining 25 percent is distributed equally among the regions for the STIP.
Urban Loop, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds and Competitive/ Discretionary Federal Grants are exempt from the formula.
Planning Organizations
NCDOT works closely with the state's metropolitan and rural planning organizations to make sure the funding designated for each of our regions is used where it is most needed.
In Surry County, NCDOT works closely with the Northwest Piedmont Rural Planning Organization. This group helps set transportation priorities for the region that includes Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.
By partnering with local planning organizations and local governments, we can program projects that will most benefit these areas and achieve regional transportation goals.
I-74
Another tool we use to achieve regional and statewide goals is the Strategic Highway Corridors plan. This initiative was adopted by the Board of Transportation in 2004 to identify, protect and maximize the use of highway corridors that play a critical role in regional or statewide mobility.
Among the recommendations is the development of I-74 throughout North Carolina.
Surry County is home to the first section of I-74 in our state. The segment that connects I-77 and U.S. 52 has helped relieve traffic through Mount Airy and Dobson and enabled motorists to easily travel between these two major routes.
When completed, I-74 will stretch from Michigan to Myrtle Beach, S.C. The entire corridor is a long way from completion, but North Carolina is making progress on its part.
Since opening the segment in Surry County, we have opened another one south of Asheboro. A third section around Ellerbe in Richmond County is scheduled to open this spring.
We also plan to let a new segment of U.S. 311 between High Point and U.S. 220 later this year, which will be part of the I-74 corridor.
In addition, we have also recently completed a variety of studies for the construction of this interstate from the South Carolina line through Brunswick County.
Closer to home, we have long-range plans to upgrade a 21.3-mile section of U.S. 52 from I-74 in Mount Airy to N.C. 65 in Rural Hall to interstate standards. This would allow for official designation of the route as I-74. We look forward to beginning work on this project, which is estimated to cost $100 million dollars, once funds become available.
I-77 Design-Build Project
Another key highway corridor for the region is I-77. This highway is one of the original interstate routes designated for North Carolina and is not only an important route for local motorists, it is also one of the nation's major north-south interstate routes.
We are committed to ensuring that this interstate will be able to meet future travel demands. To that end, we are currently rehabilitating sections of the highway that will extend its life for at least another 20 to 30 years.
NCDOT has recently completed projects to rehabilitate sections of I-77 from the U.S. 21 Bypass to milemarker 87 and from milemarker 99 to the Virginia state line.
Just last month, the Board of Transportation approved a $59.5 million design-build project to rehabilitate a 6.6-mile section of I-77 from Ashbury Church Road to the U.S. 21 Bypass, just south of here in Yadkin County.
We have had good successes with the design-build method in other parts of the state. It combines the design and construction of a project into a single contract to reduce overall completion time.
Under this method, contractors have greater flexibility in determining how to manage traffic through the work zone, which minimizes inconveniences to motorists. Work on the project should begin in the coming weeks and we anticipate completion in the summer of 2009.
Road Maintenance
We are also focusing on road maintenance. Not only is maintenance critical for our major interstate corridors, it is important for our other primary and secondary routes.
That's why I am pleased to say that North Carolina is one of the first two states in the nation, along with California, to begin incorporating performance measures into our maintenance program.
This approach will allow us to be more proactive in addressing needs before they become serious problems and more responsive to other maintenance issues as they arise. It also helps reduce overall maintenance costs.
Local Project Update
In addition to our other efforts, the department has several short-term projects in the works for this area.
A $1.2 million project is currently under way to extend Piedmont Drive in the Piedmont Triad Industrial Park in Mount Airy. This new route will expand the park's ability to recruit new business and industry to the county.
Later this year, the department plans to build a turn lane and improve the sight distance at the intersection of Zephyr and Twin Oaks roads near Dobson.
In addition, we plan to widen N.C. 268 from U.S. 52 to the existing multi-lane section in Pilot Mountain, widen Ladonia Church Road in Dobson and improve the intersection of the Old U.S. 52 Bypass and Old U.S. 52 in Mount Airy.
Public Transportation
Before I conclude, I would also like to mention some of the work we have done to improve public transportation and rail service in Surry County.
The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation used state funds to introduce new daily bus service between Mount Airy and Winston-Salem last year. The route has five daily runs each between the two cities.
I understand that the service was so well-received that two additional runs were added after only eight days, followed shortly thereafter by a switch to larger buses. The route, which costs $2 each way, also includes a stop in Pilot Mountain. The agencies added a number of park-and-ride lots for both bus passengers and the six vanpools that PART sponsors in the area.
Public transportation in Surry County is also provided by the Yadkin Valley Economic Development District, which has become an early leader in the state's growing regionalization initiative, based on the number of people served last year.
The agency, which serves Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties, made 3,130 trips for elderly and disabled Surry County residents and 10,827 trips for the public in 2006.
Our Rail Division has also been active in the county. The department is working with the Yadkin Valley Railroad to fund several improvements, which will upgrade rail lines used by industries. These improvements total $95,000 and were funded by the department's Short Line Infrastructure Assistance Program.
Conclusion
The projects and programs that I've highlighted for you this evening are just a few of the many ways that we are working to improve transportation and enhance the quality of life in and around Surry County.
I look forward to partnering with you as we continue to make one of North Carolina's most beautiful regions even more desirable to visit, work and live in.
Thank you again for inviting me to join you today. I look forward to your questions.