DOT shifts approach on loan for I-485 (News and Observer)
North Carolina won’t be on the hook for any money that a private contractor borrows to finish I-485, a Department of Transportation spokesman said.
That’s a shift from how Transportation Secretary Gene Conti described the plan when it was announced last month in Charlotte. The plan calls for the state to finance most of the $340 million needed to finish Charlotte’s long-unfinished loop. But a private contractor would finance $50 million, which the state would pay back over 10 years. The contractor will have to get that money somewhere.
When Gov. Bev Perdue and Conti announced the plan, Conti said contractors would be able to get financing if the loan were backed by the government.
On Friday, DOT spokesman Ted Vaden adjusted that position, saying the state would not be guaranteeing anybody’s loan.
The idea of a state agency independently adding to the debt load has been at the center of a dispute between Perdue’s administration and State Treasurer Janet Cowell over the financing plan.
Published Tue, Dec 08, 2009 02:00 AM
Modified Tue, Dec 08, 2009 09:30 AM
