Down the road

A commission on North Carolina's future transportation needs must be farsighted, daring and wary of political pressure

North Carolina, which always has enjoyed a top credit rating, must be cautious about new bond issues, but it's hard to argue that a sizable sum doesn't need to be invested in transportation. A multitude of bridges are in disrepair, and as many citizens can attest, roadways also are in need of work. Other road projects seem to be languishing even as traffic congestion worsens. And plans for more mass transit options, from expanded bus service to rail, are stalled like a clunker by the side of the road.

Governor Easley's 21st Century Transportation Committee, a 24-member panel, is charged with developing an overview of all the state's transportation needs, and the chairman of the group, Blue Cross and Blue Shield executive Brad Wilson, says a $2 billion bond referendum could be put before voters this year. At least, that seems to be one recommendation toward which the group is leaning.

The money would go for bridges and roads and other transportation work. Meeting with News & Observer editors and reporters, Wilson also said his group was likely to recommend stopping the annual transfer of $172 million from the state's Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund, where the money is used to answer other needs and plug budget shortfalls.

In addition, the General Assembly may be asked to provide "gap" funding to start building on a couple of toll road projects, in the Triangle and Union County, money that would cover the cost of the projects beyond the revenue that's anticipated from tolls. There would be specific money sought for those ailing bridges. The committee also must address the increasingly pressing needs in the state's urban areas, where road-building is expensive but critically necessary, and where mass transit has been hurting for support.

This committee, comprised of business leaders and politicians, ought to have some clout. That will be important if, as is expected, the group also steps up to address concerns about the very structure of the troubled Department of Transportation. (That department already has spent $3 million on a consultant and is acting on recommendations to make it more efficient.)

The department long has been plagued by excessive political influence, from Board of Transportation members -- traditionally political contributors to the governor who appointed them -- who advocated for projects from which they might personally benefit to department officials appointed more for their connections than their expertise on transportation issues.

Committee members can do some good here, if, in addition to backing more investment in transportation -- and that means mass transit options as well as asphalt and concrete -- they are willing to identify further ways to dilute political influence at the DOT. That will build public confidence in a department that too often has earned the public's dismay.

And though Easley wants to see some results, meaning some hard recommendations for action, before the end of his term, the truth is that most change will come in the next gubernatorial administration. So Republican and Democratic candidates for governor owe it to the people to make it clear they understand just how crucial action on transportation issues is, and to voice their own backing for change at DOT.