North Carolina Turnpike Authority and NC 540- Southeast Corridor Extension: How Policy Is Paving the Road

Abstract

CANAVIN, JULIE CAROL. Master of Natural Resources-Policy Administration Technical Option. North Carolina Turnpike Authority and Southeast Corridor Extension: How Policy Is Paving the Road. The Piedmont area of North Carolina is growing at a rapid rate. In response to transportation, economic and social demands placed on the area, The North Carolina Turnpike Authority is moving ahead with its plans to complete the thirty mile extension of the Triangle Expressway through southern and eastern Wake County. This expressway would connect the towns of Clayton, Garner, Fuquay Varina, Holly Springs, Apex, Cary and Raleigh. In addition, it would ease congestion on secondary roads by connecting major roads such as I-440, I-40, NC-42, NC-55 and Ten-Ten Road. Following mandatory guidelines of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, the Turnpike Authority has analyzed a number of routes under consideration in addition to the preferred corridor. Alternative routes have drawn much attention and are under consideration for the 2012 decision deadline. These alternative routes have key policy issues or problems associated with them. The “orange route”, the long-term protected route of the Department of Transportation (DOT) since the mid-1990s, runs across major streams known to be the habitat of the endangered dwarf wedge mussel or alasmidonta heterodon (US Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: http://nc-es.fws.gov/mussel/dwmussel.html). Secondly, the “red route”, one of the alternative routes proposed by the DOT, running through the Town of Garner as well as Lake Benson, will have major impacts on businesses, residential neighborhoods, parks and greenways (NC Turnpike Authority, 2011). This paper analyzes the possible impacts of these two corridors in the framework of a National Environmental Impact Statement.