INC NEWS - Editorial support for East End Connector (today's Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Editorial: It's time to build East End project'
Herald-Sun, 31 March 2005

Archeologists believe the Great Pyramid of Giza, one
of the wonders of the ancient world, was built around
2,550 B.C. and took about 30 years to complete. So why
is Durham's East End Connector taking so much longer? 

We admit it's not a fair comparison. True, the ancient
Egyptians had to overcome a lack of power tools, but
they were also unburdened by environmental impact
statements, neighborhood opposition, funding problems
or complaints from other regions about the fairness of
building the pyramid near Cairo. 

But such considerations bedevil modern road-builders
and have delayed the East End Connector since it was
first proposed -- back during the Eisenhower
administration. 

And now the project may be delayed again. The reports
resonating through Durham are that the East End
Connector is not included in the state's latest
Transportation Improvement Plan, a document due
Wednesday that sets Tar Heel road-building priorities
from 2006 to 2012. 

That would be a real disappointment to the citizens
who have been waiting decades for a road to connect
the Durham Freeway with U.S. 70. 

It would also be a major frustration for Durham
leaders who worked long and hard -- in conjunction
with the state Department of Transportation -- to come
up with a compromise to replace the controversial Eno
Loop. In 2003, the legislature approved a compromise
that set the East End Connector as the top priority,
and rerouted and renamed the Eno Loop (it became the
Revised Northern Durham Parkway) to move it away from
the Eno River and established northern Durham
neighborhoods. 

But that hard-won achievement will mean nothing if the
N.C. Board of Transportation doesn't cooperate and
schedule the project for construction -- as state
officials assured they would do at the time. 

There are many good reasons the road should be built:
It will shorten commutes from northern Durham to RTP,
take traffic off neighborhood streets, ease the
pressure on I-40 and improve access to RTP and the
airport from I-85. Also, because of the compromise, it
is that rare road project that has near-unanimous
support from citizens and public officials. 

For all of these reasons and one more -- Durham has
been waiting 45 years -- the Board of Transportation
should include the East End Connector in the TIP plan.