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Christina Fisher

The N.C. Gubernatorial Candidates -- Transportation
May 7, 2008

The gubernatorial race in North Carolina has come down to Bev Perdue (D), current Lt. Governor of N.C., and Pat McCrory (R), current mayor of Charlotte, N.C. The next few blog topics will present the positions of these two candidates regarding issues that affect the construction industry. These summaries have been compiled from the candidates’ web sites.

Pat McCrory: McCrory pledges that there will be no more transfers from the Highway Trust Fund, and he will ask the State Auditor and State Treasurer to investigate past “transfers” of money from the Highway Trust Fund so that any money that was used improperly will be repaid. McCrory plans to develop a 50-Year Transportation and Road Plan for the state that will take a detailed look and current and future transportation needs. Mass transportation and land-use plans will complement existing and future road networks. He plans to reform the NCDOT, stating that “influential Board of Transportation members and powerful state legislators subvert professional decisions and often redirect funds to projects for political reasons.” McCrory plans to end this practice, reduce the size of the Board of Transportation, appoint members based on professional expertise, and establish separate rural and metropolitan highway divisions to meet the needs of the 21^st century. With North Carolina’s gas tax the fourth highest in the nation and the only one indexed for inflation, McCrory plans to freeze the gas tax. Finally, McCrory plans to make more efficient use of our existing roads by investigating the use of Interstate shoulders as additional lanes during peak travel times, expanding reversible lanes to maximize one-way capacity during rush hour, and creating HOT lanes in highly congested areas.

Bev Perdue: Perdue plans to stop the $170 million transfer of funds from the Highway Trust Fund during her first term, generating more than $1 billion in new bonding capacity. She plans to transform the NCDOT by breaking up the bureaucratic decision-making model and transferring project planning and decision making to project directors and engineers in the field. She plans to decentralize the NCDOT by holding divisions accountable and allowing them to partner with cities, counties and regions to create better management and execution of projects. Perdue will reward contractors who finish projects ahead of time and under budget and punish those who don’t. Perdue also plans to cut the construction inflation rate by half or more to bring construction costs in line with other states.

Posted by Christina Fisher on May 7, 2008 | Comments (1)