 The widening of King Street is predicted to be underway by June 2009 with $14.4 million recently allocated from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act for the project. Photo by The Appalachian |
by ANNE BAKER
News Editor
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue announced last week she will allocate $14.4 million in funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act toward widening King Street.
The project was previously delayed due to a shortage of North Carolina Department of Transportation funds; however, with money from the stimulus package, construction will now continue.
Perdue said in a
Feb. 24 statement that 70 highway and bridge projects throughout North
Carolina—including the King Street widening project—will soon be under
way using the $466 million in federal economic stimulus funding.
This round of infrastructure investment will create approximately 14,000 jobs for the state, NCDOT officials said last week.
“Our
overriding goal is to get North Carolina’s economy moving by funding
transportation projects that will create jobs from the mountains to the
coast,” Perdue said. “My administration is working closely with local
communities to determine which projects can be ready most quickly and
deliver the greatest benefit. I will stress accountability,
transparency and efficiency as we use the stimulus funds.”
The money from the stimulus package is the first half North Carolina will receive for highway improvements.
New
federal law now requires states to obligate the first half of
transportation stimulus money within 120 days of receipt, and the
remaining half to projects within a year.
The second half of road and bridge projects should be announced within the next 45 days.
“These
federal funds will be used almost immediately to help us create jobs in
Watauga County and alleviate traffic congestion,” N.C. Sen. Steve Goss
said. “I appreciate Gov. Perdue’s hard work in securing the investment
for our future.”
Goss,
co-chairman of the Appropriations on Department of Transportation
committee, is a representative for the N.C. Senate 45th District, which
includes Alexander, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties.
Although the widening of King Street is now a reality, the project will not meet its previous groundbreaking April deadline.
Completion
of the project was originally planned for August 2010, when the new
Watauga County High School is set to open on Old East King Street.
For more information regarding stimulus funding for infrastructure improvements in North Carolina, visit ncdot.gov.
A list of projects selected for funding so far can also be found at this Web site.
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