Accelerating a road

As the chambers of commerce serving the largest communities in the Triangle and as the founding chambers of the Regional Transportation Alliance business leadership group, we are pleased with the progress of projects that will complete a continuous freeway route from Interstate 85 North at Durham to U.S. 1 South at Apex -- a new north-south route free of traffic signals that we call the Research Triangle Freeway corridor (www.letsgetmoving.org/).

We would like to thank Ken Spaulding and the other members of the Board of Transportation for their support of loop funding for the East End Connector as well as our local and state elected officials and Turnpike Board members for their support of turnpikes to accelerate completion of Interstate 540 and Triangle Parkway. Constructing these three critical projects will complete the Research Triangle Freeway, a vital mobility corridor in the heart of the Triangle.

We encourage the Turnpike Authority, the Department of Transportation and legislative leaders to continue to explore innovative ways to accelerate these and other critical projects, including gap funding for proposed turnpikes in Durham and Wake counties and "GARVEE" bonds for Interstate 40 between Raleigh and Cary (the last two-lane section from Chapel Hill to Garner) and U.S. 401 north to Franklin County.

Libby Barnes

President and CEO, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce

Durham

Harvey Schmitt

President and CEO, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce

Raleigh

(This letter was also endorsed by Howard Johnson, president and CEO of the Cary Chamber of Commerce, and Aaron Nelson, executive director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce.)