Mid-Currituck Bridge funding put back in proposed budget

Some tough negotiations on behalf of our local public figures have (thus far) restored the funding for the Bridge. Below is an article from the Virginia Pilot:

N.C. budget plan restores funding for Currituck bridge

BRIDGE TO COROLLA
The newest version of the Senate budget would allocate $15 million annually for the next two years for "gap funding" toward a $660 million toll bridge across the Currituck Sound.

By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 1, 2011

The North Carolina Senate budget of $19.7 billion released today restores funding for the mid-Currituck bridge and the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City.

The budget would allocate $15 million annually for the next two years for gap funding toward a $660 million toll bridge across the Currituck Sound from Aydlett to Corolla. County officials in Dare and Currituck have supported the project, but many Aydlett and Corolla residents oppose it. Private contractors are set to build and operate the bridge and charge tolls to help pay the costs.

Two years ago the General Assembly set aside $15 million annually to fill the gap that tolls would not cover, but bridge construction was delayed. The latest budget reallocates the $30 million set aside over the last two years to buy school buses.

Last week a version from the Senate eliminated funding for the bridge and other projects and institutions in the northeast.

“Rep. (Tim) Spear and I worked real hard to get this funding back,” said Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank.

The new budget also restores $959,000 in salaries and benefits for 15 full-time employees of the Museum of the Albemarle. Last week’s budget eliminated all the positions and would have forced closure of the 50,000-square-foot museum on the Elizabeth City waterfront. Five positions were cut last year, museum Director Ed Merrell said. About 40,000 people visit the museum each year, he said.

The Currituck and Ocracoke ferries will not be required to charge a toll, Owens said. Also restored was small-schools funding used in Camden, Tyrrell and other rural counties with small populations, he said.

The Senate budget is expected to go before the House by the end of the week and to the governor next week, Owens said.