THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 12, 1995 TAG: 9507120379
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Legislation creating a toll authority to oversee construction and management of a bridge across Currituck Sound is on its way to the Senate after Tuesday's final approval by the House.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. W.C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr., a Pasquotank County Democrat, creates an eight-member North Carolina Bridge Authority. It was approved 100-13 in the final House vote.
``The board of transportation has so many responsibilities that it would not have time to handle tolls and especially to get a toll bridge off the ground,'' Owens said.
The bill is intended to follow up on legislation passed last year that authorized construction of the first state-owned toll bridge in modern history. It gave the Department of Transportation the authority to levy a toll of up to $10 per vehicle for a round-trip over the bridge, or $500 for an annual pass for a vehicle.
But a provision in last year's bill establishing a bridge authority to oversee the project was eliminated in last-minute negotiations between House and Senate versions of the bill.
Most states that charge tolls also have some type of state authority to oversee those tolls, Owens said.
The North Carolina authority would help set the toll rates, determine emergency procedures and set other management policies for the Currituck bridge, which is scheduled for construction within the next five years. The location of the bridge, which will link the mainland with the northern Outer Banks beaches, has not been determined. by CNB