Editorial - Pender County residents get better option on bypass

Pender County residents balked at a previous route plan that would have forced drivers traveling from north of Hampstead to drive south on the bypass and then loop north on Business 17 to get to the Topsail High School complex and other nearby spots. Engineers designed the road that way because they are required to preserve the dwindling longleaf pine habitat where the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker makes its home.But the road configuration simply didnt make sense, residents said, and they were right.State engineers took their comments to heart and worked with local officials to devise a possible alternative that makes a lot more sense. If the changes considered over the past several months can improve the flow of traffic while still protecting a threatened habitat, everybody wins.While a project engineer says hes pretty sure the N.C. Department of Transportation can make the new design work, it will be a few months yet before the change becomes official. There is time.Right-of-way acquisition isnt supposed to begin until 2016. A bigger concern, however, is that the Board of Transportation has not yet funded construction of the bypass. Bill Rabon, the Republican state senator who currently represents Pender, Brunswick and Columbus counties, is in prime position to push for the money to build.As co-chairman of the Senates DOT appropriations committee, he has the influence necessary to convince his colleagues of the need for a four-lane bypass around Hampstead, which if incorporated would be the largest town in Pender County.Rabon says the project is high on his list, a good sign that something will happen if money is available. With billions of dollars in transportation needs over the next couple of decades and limited money, North Carolinas lawmakers are going to have to develop new revenue sources to finish critical highway projects.Transportation officials are working on recommendations that may include unpopular toll roads or taxing residents based on number of miles driven rather than h! ow much gasoline they buy. But federal dollars also help pay for roads, and North Carolinas congressional delegation should do all within its power to make sure that a fair share of those tax dollars are coming back home.Unlike some Northern states where populations are shrinking, North Carolina continues to attract new residents and businesses. Our roads and bridges have not kept up.Slowly, for several decades now, the state has been gradually working toward making U.S. 17 four lanes from Virginia all the way to the South Carolina line. Although the road through Hampstead technically fits that description, it is not conducive to through traffic. Residents are worried about the increasing number of crashes.Rabon is in a position to help. And as the potential route change illustrates, residents also have considerable power to urge the General Assembly to make the Hampstead bypass a priority. Powered By iWebRSS.co.cc