A unanimous North Carolina Senate on Wednesday passed the Build N.C. Act that will accelerate the construction of hundreds of road and bridge projects across North Carolina, especially in the state’s rural areas.

 

Senate Bill 758 – sponsored by Sens. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), Kathy Harrington (R-Gaston) and Jim Davis (R-Macon) – will allow the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to use a new financing tool to access up to $300 million each year over the next ten years in order to complete smaller road projects that otherwise would be constructed much later. Those dollars will be repaid using revenues from the state’s Highway Trust Fund – at no additional cost to taxpayers.

 

Under the bill, DOT must use the additional funding to build projects for which there is the greatest need, based on the data-driven formula in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) that measures factors such as congestion, benefit/cost, safety, accessibility and freight/military along with local support. The data-driven approach is expected to deliver hundreds of roads and bridges in rural communities and throughout North Carolina.

 

The legislation is modeled after a similar federal program and contains safeguards – including prior approval from the state treasurer – to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the entire process.

 

“With more people moving to North Carolina every year and more cars on our roads, our state’s transportation needs are growing,” said the bill’s sponsors in a joint statement. “The Build N.C. initiative will help ensure that more North Carolinians have access sooner to roads and bridges that safely connect them to their jobs and families, and we are pleased it received unanimous bipartisan support.”

 

North Carolina’s state-maintained transportation system is the second largest in the entire country, after Texas.