A proposed 22-mile toll road between western Mecklenburg and western Gaston County is still moving forward, with a round of funding coming up in July. But it’s not a done deal. Long-time opponent Sen. Kathy Harrington, R-Gaston, said the flow of money for the embattled $1 billion Garden Parkway could still be stopped. She believes the money could be spent more wisely. “It is fiscally irresponsible to hold money aside for a project that has not yet started when we have so many deficient bridges and road maintenance issues and incomplete projects in Gaston and across the state,” Harrington said.
The parkway would begin west of Gastonia, at Interstate 85 at Bessemer City, and run south for roughly five miles before turning east toward Charlotte. It would cross the Catawba River and end just south of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Earlier this week, officials with the N.C. Turnpike Authority provided area officials with an update on the parkway. The parkway’s final environmental impact statement has been completed and in February the Federal Highway Administration approved a Record of Decision for the project. This gives officials the right to file for construction permits, and is a “major milestone,” according to Turnpike Authority spokeswoman Reid Simons.
By July 1, the project will get $17.5 million from the state and $35 million a year for the next 30 to 35 years. Right-of-way acquisition is scheduled to begin this fall, with construction to follow in 2013. The parkway would open to traffic in late 2015 or early 2016. That is, if everything goes right. Simons acknowledged “we do have a tight state budget” and that things could “always change.”
by Joe DePriest
(THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER)
4/04/12
