THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 26, 1995 TAG: 9507260392
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Legislation to create a toll authority to oversee construction and management of a bridge from mainland Currituck County to the Outer Banks cleared its last hurdle in the General Assembly Tuesday.
The bill was approved, 43 to 4, by the Senate on its third and final reading.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. W.C. ``Bill'' Owens Jr., a Pasquotank County Democrat, would create an eight-member authority to oversee construction of the bridge.
The bill is a follow-up to 1994 legislation that authorized construction of the first state-owned toll bridge in modern history. Under the 1994 legislation, the Department of Transportation would have the authority to levy a toll of up to $10 for a round trip or $500 for an annual pass for a vehicle.
But a provision establishing a bridge authority to oversee the project was eliminated in last-minute negotiations between House and Senate versions of the bill.
Owens said most states that levy tolls have authorities to oversee those tolls to ease the burden of often-overworked transportation departments.
The North Carolina Bridge Authority will help set the toll rates, determine emergency procedures and set other management policies for the Currituck bridge, scheduled for construction within five years.
The legislation also authorizes the authority to hire an executive director to carry out policies enacted by the authority. by CNB