NC Voters To Get Say On $3 Billion Bond Package

Gov. Pat McCrory stopped in Winston-Salem Friday to push for a proposed $3 billion bond measure to improve highways along with state buildings and parks.

McCrory says the state's future depends on boosting the state's infrastructure.

“The connectivity of all these working together is going to continue to energize our economy and to also improve our quality of life and our environment. But we have to do it now and we can do it now.” 

In addition to highway funds, there's also money for new buildings including an improved building for High Point's National Guard, and a new engineering building at North Carolina A&T and science building at Winston-Salem State universities.

Almost a third of the highway money would go toward completing and extending the eastern leg of Forsyth County's Northern Beltway. The long-awaited beltway has been on the books for decades. But by the time the state was ready to build it, there was no transportation funding to build it.

Now one segment is under construction, and three more will soon have funding in place. But it will take three more segments to complete the corridor from US 52 in northern Forsyth to US 311 toward High Point.

The proposal funds those three segments plus two more to extend the beltway west to NC 67 near Bethania, says Pat Ivey, an NCDOT division engineer.

The measure would have to be approved by the General Assembly before it would go to voters in the fall. State Rep. Donny Lambeth says he expects the proposal to get a good reception in the House. He's hoping voters will also back the measure.

"I think it would be a real boost to the area - just think about how long we've talked about that connector," he says. "We have so much to gain in this package."