INC NEWS - DOT carrying a grudge? (Herald-Sun letter)

[Mike - Hotmail]

To clarify,

The majority of cost overruns involving I-85 have been the ballooning costs 
of both steel, concrete and asphalt (phenomenal demand for these in China 
are driving costs  to records never seen before).

Other items pale in comparison from what I've come to understand from 
several meetings with representatives present from Mark Ahrendsen, NCDOT and 
Granite Construction.

mike shiflett


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "pat carstensen" <pats1717 at hotmail.com>
To: <inc-list at DurhamINC.org>
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 4:14 PM
Subject: RE: INC NEWS - DOT carrying a grudge? (Herald-Sun letter)


> My understanding is that I-85 cost over-runs (a teeny tiny part of which 
> is from noise walls and other mitigation we in Durham asked for, but 
> mostly just they mis-budgeted) and similar problems in Wake County meant 
> that we spent more than expected in last couple years.  So it is sort of 
> legitimate that we get less $$ in next couple years.
>
> My questions are:
> * Are there things that are getting built in next 6 years that we need to 
> push down -- do we have the right priority list?
> * The federal government is (on many fronts) pushing their budget problems 
> down to the states.  Last time I was paying attention, federal 
> Transportation Bill for next 6 years is pretty generous (it has other 
> problems, like "streamlining" on evaluating effects (-:) -- but I think it 
> is a good question what $$ we will have after 2012, especially when we 
> were already looking at needing to raise funds locally
> * It would be real interesting to do an exercise of deciding how much 
> transportation $$ we have to spend (including non-road stuff) and use that 
> as a constraint to look at our future land use patterns
>
> Regards, Pat Carstensen
>
>>From: "Caleb Southern" <southernc at mindspring.com>
>>Reply-To: southernc at mindspring.com
>>To: <inc-list at DurhamINC.org>
>>Subject: INC NEWS -  DOT carrying a grudge? (Herald-Sun letter)
>>Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2005 08:21:42 -0400
>>
>>DOT carrying a grudge?
>>Herald-Sun letter
>>
>>I was astonished to pick up the newspaper March 30 and read Ginny 
>>Skalski's
>>article that the N.C. DOT is still dragging its heels on the East End
>>Connector. Let's recap: The connector has been on the state's books since
>>1959. It is supported, indeed requested, by an overwhelming majority of 
>>the
>>city's citizen organizations. The city and county governments, as well as
>>the Durham region MPO, all consider it the highest priority road project 
>>in
>>the county. It will provide an alternate route for the dangerous 
>>cut-through
>>traffic that now plagues our urban neighborhoods. It will hasten 
>>development
>>in areas of the city that need it. It will encourage trips into downtown
>>Durham, instead of through downtown Durham. So why is DOT so reluctant? Is
>>DOT nursing a grudge because Durham citizens successfully lobbied against
>>their pet Eno Drive project? And why is our appointed representative to 
>>the
>>State Transportation Board so willing to let this project slide? Shouldn't
>>DOT be serving the citizens?
>>
>>
>>BARRY RAGIN
>>DURHAM
>>April 4, 2005
>>The writer is president of the Duke Park Neighborhood Association.
>>
>>[For more information about the East End Connector, visit:
>>www.DurhamLoop.org ]
>>
>>
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>>INC-list at rtpnet.org
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>
>
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