New buildings will rise, but what about roads?
Published September 29, 2015
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, September 29, 2015.
It won't do everything Gov. Pat McCrory wanted, nor everything the state needs. But a $2 billion bond proposal that is moving toward legislative approval this week is a good start.
McCrory wanted $3 billion in bond funding for a package of improvements on state buildings and highways. He's likely to get the buildings part, but the Senate took highways out of play. Leaders there said they're prefer to fund highway improvement through existing funds.
More than half of the $2 billion will go toward construction at the state's university and community-college systems, including those here in Fayetteville. That's an investment that will pay dividends - especially if lawmakers will stop cutting higher-education operating budgets.
Other spending will include hundreds of millions for water and sewer projects, investments in more than 40 of our state parks, new buildings at the North Carolina Zoo, a new Department of Agriculture lab, construction for the National Guard, and grants for local parks for children and for veterans with disabilities.
The package still needs final approval from the House, and the governor's signature, but both appear likely.
But there will be no bonds to fund anything if the voters don't approve the package next year, most likely on the ballot for the state's primary election on March 15.
We're disappointed, though, that the Senate was adamant that no bond spending be provided for our highways. Even though the General Assembly has moved away from its longstanding annual raids on the highway funds to balance the budget, the state isn't collecting enough money to get the job done. Lawmakers have capped the fuel-tax rate and as America's automobile and truck fleet gets more fuel-efficient, the cash flow is steadily diminishing. With more required increases in average fuel economy in our future, the funds will continue to shrink .
We need to find alternative ways of funding highway repair and expansion, and lawmakers aren't looking. Our experience with I-95 expansion is a good example. When the state Department of Transportation put tolls on its list of ways to finance upgrades on the East Coast's primary north-south interstate, cities, towns and businesses along I-95's path were outraged, and politicians put the notion to death. Nobody advanced an alternative way to pay for the work. Discussion ended, and the road continues to deteriorate.
We're happy to see the infrastructure bonds advancing, but we wonder when lawmakers will get serious about our roads.
