Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Bridge topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioner outlines narrow options after regional vote on Mid-Currituck Bridge planning
Summary
Commissioner Braithweight reported a regional planning vote did not decide to build the Mid-Currituck Bridge but asked member counties to choose whether to continue the current planning path (with a large funding gap) or move the project back to earlier phases; the board was told options are limited and federal funding remains uncertain.
Commissioner Braithweight updated the board on a recent Albemarle regional planning meeting about the Mid-Currituck Bridge, saying the regional committee's action was procedural and should not be read as an authorization to build. He told commissioners the options presented were to continue on the current planning and funding path (noting a substantial funding shortfall) or to return the project to the prior phase when the state Department of Transportation begins the next step in May.
Braithweight said the timeframe to decide was short and that the only realistic paths involve pursuing additional federal funding (no guarantees) or delaying the project's next phase. "The information was presented to us in February of the budget shortfall on the...bridge," he said, and the regional meeting required a quick choice. The board did not take a separate, binding vote on construction at the Currituck meeting; Braithweight emphasized the regional vote was not approval to build but an allocation of how to proceed with planning under current constraints.
Next steps: the county remains engaged in the regional planning process; commissioners will continue to monitor DOT timelines and funding options and report back as more information on federal funding opportunities and schedule emerges.
