Gov. McCrory unveils transportation plan & impacts for coastal towns

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina’s first transportation funding plan using new standards has been unveiled, and Governor Pat McCrory says the plan has major impacts for the coastal towns of the state.

The plan, which the governor says consists of hundreds of projects and hundreds of thousands of jobs, is what will be in the works for the next 10 years. The strategic plan falls under Gov. McCrory’s 25-year vision to map the future and guide transportation investments.

It proposes $15 billion on road construction, aviation and public transit projects through 2025. Over half of nearly 1,100 projects on the program list were scored under a new method the legislature approved in 2013.

One project example is expanding N.C. 211 to the towns of Southport and Oak Island and improve their connection to the U.S. 17 corridor, which will help relieve congestion during the busy tourist season and improve an important evacuation route, the governor said.

Other aspects that will affect the Cape Fear region include transforming the state’s ports which also includes an intermodal train system.

One civil engineer who worked in transportation for more than 30 years says the state is going about this the right way.

“You need a statewide network first and then connect it in with the locals,” Marshall Reed said.

Jimmy Watson echoed Reed’s approval of the plan.

“I drive a lot, and improving the roads would mean a great deal to me,” Watson said.