Cap on light rail funding remains in final NC budget

For the second year in a row, the N.C. House has been unsuccessful in its efforts to remove a state funding cap that significantly reduces funding for the Durham-Chapel Hill light rail project.

Since 2015, state funding for light rail projects has been capped at $500,000, a move that effectively canceled the state’s commitment to provide $138 million for the $2.5 billion line connecting Durham and Chapel Hill. The cap was later changed to a maximum of 10 percent of the total project cost.

The cap would have been eliminated under the House’s budget proposal, but the Senate didn’t want to make the change, and the final budget leaves the cap intact for another year. A similar budget disagreement in 2016 had the same result.

N.C. Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon criticized the decision in a letter released by the governor’s office on Monday.

“A light rail system for this region would boost business development and recruitment, and also assist commuters along this growing corridor,” Trogdon wrote. “A provision to remove the cap was present in the House version, but removed in conference – a missed opportunity for the entire state to increase our competitiveness with peer southeastern and growing states nationally.”

Planning for the project continues despite the lower amount of state funding. As of January, backers of the project still hoped to begin construction in 2020.

This story was originally published June 26, 2017 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Cap on light rail funding remains in final NC budget."