NCDOT delays hundreds of highway projects, but one in the Triangle will start sooner
News&Observer, October 8, 2020
Dozens of road and highway construction projects in the Triangle have been delayed as the N.C. Department of Transportation adjusts to rising costs and a drop in revenue brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the downturn in the economy.
The delays affect a range of projects, from routine repaving to the construction of new lanes and bridges and the overhaul of highway interchanges. They include the conversion of U.S. 1 to a freeway between Raleigh and Wake Forest; the widening of U.S. 64/264 between Wendell and Zebulon; and the reconstruction of the Raleigh Beltline interchange with Glenwood Avenue near Crabtree Valley Mall.
The changes are reflected in the latest version of NCDOT’s 10-year construction plan, the State Transportation Improvement Program or STIP, which was approved Thursday by the state Board of Transportation.
The delays were necessary despite the issuing this month of $700 million in bonds for road construction. That money will be used to complete projects that are already underway to help NCDOT stabilize its finances, chairman Mike Fox told fellow board members, but it doesn’t prevent delays in about 700 projects statewide.
“We’re making a number of adjustments to projects to reflect the reality of our funding situation,” Fox said.
One Triangle project will happen sooner than planned. NCDOT now expects to begin construction on the final leg of N.C. 540 between Knightdale and Interstate 40 near Garner in 2026 instead of 2029. The six-lane highway is a toll road, developed by the N.C. Turnpike Authority, which doesn’t rely on gas taxes and other traditional sources of revenue.
“Eastern Wake 540 has a funding source as a turnpike that other projects do not,” said Joe Milazzo, executive director of the Regional Transportation Alliance, a program of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
Nearly all of the $653 million needed to finish the last section of 540 will come from bonds, paid back with tolls, notes Joey Hopkins, the engineer for the region that includes Wake and Durham counties. NCDOT has completed planning and environmental studies for the project, allowing it to take advantage of low interest rates for those bonds, Hopkins said.
“It’s a good project, to close the loop up and finish that gap,” he said in an interview. “Because of the bond market and where we are in the planning process, you can actually move that project up and save money.”
‘Financial challenges’ lead to delays in other projects
Completing 540 was a top priority for the alliance, so accelerating the final leg by three years is good news, Milazzo said. Construction of an 18-mile segment of N.C. 540, also known as the Triangle Expressway, across southern Wake County began last fall and is expected to open by the end of 2023.
The delays in dozens of other projects in the Triangle are understandable given the circumstances, Milazzo said.
“We’re obviously not thrilled, but we’re obviously not surprised,” he said. “The regional business community is well aware of the financial challenges facing DOT even prior to the pandemic.”
Many of the delayed projects were conceived years ago when NCDOT was flush with cash. The department had more than $2 billion on hand in 2017 and was under pressure from legislators and others to put that money to use. Projects that hadn’t been expected to begin for several years were accelerated.
But as NCDOT ramped up spending, Hurricane Florence hit in late 2018, costing more than $300 million in cleanup and repairs. At the same time, a Supreme Court ruling forced NCDOT to begin settling lawsuits with property owners affected by the Map Act, a state law that had allowed the department to preserve land for future roads without buying it. Since the court found the law unconstitutional, NCDOT has spent about $700 million settling those suits.
As it dealt with those expenses, NCDOT got careless with its spending, according to an audit completed in May. A report released by the Office of the State Auditor found that the department spent $742 million more than it expected to in the year that ended June 30, 2019, because of poor budgeting and internal oversight.
Then came the coronavirus. With businesses and schools shut down, gas tax revenue plunged in April, May and June. Fees paid to the Division of Motor Vehicles also declined, as DMV offices were shuttered and legislators gave people more time to renew licenses and registrations.
Legislators responded to the lower revenue by cutting a half billion dollars from NCDOT’s budget for the year starting July 1. The largest share, $425 million, came from the Highway Trust Fund, reducing the amount available to build and improve roads.
The legislature increased the money NCDOT could borrow by issuing bonds. Still, NCDOT estimates it will have $2 billion less to spend on road construction over the coming decade. At the same time, it says it expects construction to cost $3 billion more than it thought just last year, mostly because of rising property costs in urban areas.
NCDOT’s financial problems forced it to delay several projects in the Triangle a year ago. The changes approved Thursday push many projects back even further.
They include:
▪ The start of the conversion of Capital Boulevard into a freeway from I-540 to Durant Road will be delayed three years, to 2025. Turning the road into a freeway between Durant and the N.C. 98 Bypass in Wake Forest also has been pushed back three years, to 2027.
▪ The redesign and reconstruction of the interchange where Glenwood Avenue meets the Raleigh Beltline, including changes to Crabtree Valley Avenue and Ridge Road. At one point, NCDOT had expected to start the project last year and now doesn’t expect construction to begin until sometime after 2029.
▪ The widening of U.S. 64 in Cary and Apex, including the conversion of intersections into interchanges between U.S. 1 and Laura Duncan Road, will be delayed four more years, to 2029.
▪ The conversion of U.S. 70 into a freeway between I-540 at Brier Creek and T.W. Alexander Drive will be delayed three years to 2025.
▪ The widening of U.S. 64/264 to six lanes between Wendell Boulevard and the split at Zebulon has been pushed back to sometime beyond 2029.
▪ The widening and repaving of N.C. 147 between Research Triangle Park and the East End Connector in Durham is delayed four years to 2028.
▪ Building bridges to eliminate railroad crossings at Northeast Maynard and Trinity roads in Cary is delayed four years to 2028. Hopkins, the division engineer, said nearly every major project in his area that hadn’t been put out to bid was delayed. He said the pandemic has temporarily reduced traffic and perhaps the perception that some of these projects are needed right away.
But Hopkins expects traffic will rebound, particularly as the Triangle continues to attract new residents and businesses. And besides, NCDOT usually gets around to widening a road long after it’s needed, he said, citing U.S. 1 between Raleigh and Wake Forest.
“Certainly it doesn’t have the same level of congestion that it had in February,” he said. “But it’s still congested. There’s still delays there, still crashes there.”
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