North Carolina Gov. Signs Measure to Change Distribution Method of Transportation Dollars

AASHTO Journal, 28 June 2013

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law Wednesday a bill that changes the way the state allocates money for transportation projects. The measure puts in place the Strategic Mobility Formula, which awards projects with funding that are ranked as highest priorities by the North Carolina Department of Transportation instead of allocating funds equally to all highway divisions.

McCrory and NCDOT officials said that under the previous formula, the state was slated in its 10-year plan to work on 175 projects, creating 174,000 jobs. Under the new formula, they said, NCDOT will be able to complete at least 260 projects, creating 240,000 jobs.

“Our goal is to better connect people to jobs, health care, education, and recreation centers, as well as to maintain and attract new businesses,” said North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Tony Tata in a statement. “The Strategic Mobility Formula allows us to make a stronger investment in our people and our state sooner by focusing on reducing congestion and travel time, while increasing economic competitiveness, freight and multimodal connectivity.”

The Strategic Mobility Formula focuses on a tiered approach in transportation improvements, as the state will receive 40 percent of available funding ($6 billion) while the regional and division levels will each get 30 percent of available funding ($4.5 billion apiece) over the next 10 years.

“Everything we do is focused on strengthening our economy and making government operate more efficiently,” McCrory said. “This landmark legislation helps us do both. A tremendous amount of work has gone into this initiative, and I thank everyone from the statewide to the local level who has been involved in making this a reality.”

Additional information on NCDOT’s Strategic Mobility Formula is available here. ​​

 

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