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February 26, 2009 EDITION

State awards $14.4 million for King Street widening By Scott Nicholson The rubber is meeting the road on the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, as N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue steamrolled $14.4 million toward the widening of King Street in Boone. The project, which had been stalled in the midst of right-of-way acquisitions due to a shortage of N.C. Department of Transportation funds, will now continue, though it will not meet its original groundbreaking deadline of April. The project had been targeted for completion by August 2010, when the new Watauga County high school opens on Old East King Street. The King Street widening was among the 70 highway and bridge projects throughout North Carolina that will soon get under way using $466 million in federal economic stimulus funding. N.C. Sen. Steve Goss (D-45), who serves on the Transportation Committee, said in a statement, “These federal funds will be used almost immediately to help us create jobs in Watauga County and alleviate traffic congestion. I appreciate Gov. Perdue’s hard work in securing the investment for our future.” The money is the first half the state will receive for highway improvements through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The new federal law requires states to obligate the first half of transportation stimulus money within 120 days of receipt, and the remaining half to projects within a year. According to NCDOT officials, this round of infrastructure investment will create about 14,000 jobs for the state. “Our overriding goal is to get North Carolina’s economy moving by funding transportation projects that will create jobs from the mountains to the coast,” Perdue said. “My administration is working closely with local communities to determine which projects can be ready most quickly and deliver the greatest benefit. I will stress accountability, transparency, and efficiency as we use the stimulus funds.” The total $787 billion stimulus package is expected to create or save 105,000 jobs in the state. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has worked with local planning organizations across the state to determine which projects will be funded, and the Watauga County commissioners had endorsed the project as its top priority for stimulus funding. The biggest factor in selecting projects is whether they are “shovel ready” and can be under contract by June, along with safety, mobility, infrastructure health and equitable distribution. The second half of stimulus-related road and bridge projects is expected to be announced in the next 45 days. Perdue said she will pursue discretionary grant money included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to use for the $300 million replacement of the Yadkin River Bridge on I-85 in Davidson and Rowan counties. Any discretionary grant money received would supplement the $838 million NCDOT has already received through the economic-recovery plan, including $735 million for highway and bridge projects and $103 million for projects in other modes, including aviation, bicycle and pedestrian, ferry, public transportation and rail projects.

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