The stated mission of NCDOT is “to provide and support a safe and integrated transportation system that enhances the state.” But does enhancing the state mean building unnecessary roads? And who benefits from these roads?
Unnecessary roads can be built in North Carolina for three purely political reasons: 1) politicians seeking votes from constituents who think a certain district needs a new exit, bridge or bypass; 2) transportation officials who succumb to the undue influence exercised by developers, road contractors and business interests; and 3) economic incentives for companies who plan to relocate to or expand in North Carolina.
Perhaps the most visible illustration of the first reason is the infamous “road to nowhere,” which is viewed by some old-timers in the state as long overdue compensation for what their community lost when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built the Fontana Dam, a project which flooded part of western North Carolina during the 1940s. The federal government began rebuilding the flooded road, but the U.S. Park Service halted construction on the road in the early 1970s after only seven of the 33 proposed miles had been built (at which point the road picked up its nickname). U.S. Representative Charles Taylor (R) revived the Road to Nowhere project and got $16 million in federal money to continue the road through undeveloped tracts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to advocates for the road, it would not only replace the original N.C. Highway 223 but would compete with a scenic parkway in Tennessee. Still, many view resurrecting the 30-year-old project as nothing more than a ploy to get goodies for votes — the displacing effect of Fontana Lake notwithstanding.
Local pork is as big an issue as federal pork. It is difficult to say how many unnecessary projects have been built due to special interests and business contacts in North Carolina, but currently a number of visible state politicians have been allowed to divert money from road maintenance to low-priority projects by way of a special transportation fund. According to Civitas research:
Since 2003, House Speaker Pro Tem Richard Morgan (R) has requested a total of $3,095,000 in special projects (pork barrel), House Speaker Jim Black (D) requested $4,365,817 and President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight (D) requested $3,516,219 in special projects.
These special projects included:“Relocating a portion of an existing sidewalk, streetscape and beautification, restoration of an airport terminal to serve as a Welcome Center, installation of direction signs to East Carolina University and paving Country Club Lane.”
And in 2005, the John Locke Foundation’s Don Carrington turned up a number of apparently political funding approvals in just one four-month period:
While currently legal, these discretionary funds raise serious questions, particularly since so much money is ostensibly being diverted for the sake of political favors.
Unfortunately, all of this points to how special interests often win out over the public interest. This brings us to the second reason unnecessary roads get built: business interests.
Road subsidies are a primary component of many economic incentive packages for corporations. Much of the funding for this kind of road project comes from the Industrial Access/Road Access Fund administered by NCDOT, but some comes from the $10 million per annum contingency purse held by General Assembly members and Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett who controls another $5 million in discretionary funds. According to the John Locke Foundation, North Carolina budgeted nearly $500 million in subsidies and tax breaks in the last biennium – $11 million of which was earmarked for transportation.
Consider this 1997 account from the Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill:
“Paving Flynt Road, a dirt road in Stokes County’s Sauratown community, wasn’t exactly a top priority for DOT. In fact, 170 roads in that county alone ranked higher in need. But last week state officials began acquiring right-of-way for the nearly mile-long stretch. The $110,000 project leap-frogged others because it was requested by a state lawmaker using money from a little publicized N.C. highway fund.”
In that instance, Jim Morrill cites state Senator David Hoyle (D) who in a two-year period had spent “$570,000 — more than any other North Carolina lawmaker. His 11 projects include a connector to a new manufactured-housing plant [in Cherryville].” While no one denies that industries need road access to their facilities, these subsidies can be excessive, used for political leverage, and launch companies to the head of the line in front of citizens.