Governor's Road Projects May Outstretch Funding

Governor Pat McCrory's plan to borrow a billion dollars for road projects still won't pay for everything.

Governor Pat McCrory and Secretary of the Department of Transportation Anthony Tata flew across North Carolina last week to explain how connecting rural and urban communities with new roads and highways will boost the state's economy. McCrory announced a billion dollar bond program he hopes state legislators will pass and fund next year to pay for the initiative. According to McCrory, it would cover the cost of numerous road projects that didn't make the cut under the state's new Strategic Mobility Formula. This includes the completion of Winston-Salem's Northern Beltway.

But the total price tag for the loop alone is around $1.4 billion.

Pat Ivey with the Department of Transportation says the immediate push is to finish I-74 on the loop's eastern side. However, Ivey admits a billion dollars isn't enough to cover the rest of the eastern side and the western half in addition to other needed projects.

"The transportation needs far exceed the available revenue, but the intent is to finish roads such as the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway," explains Ivey. He says there is a 3.4 mile section on the eastern side of the beltway between Business 40 to US 158 that is totally funded. Construction will begin later this year.