HomeMy WebLinkAbout20020672 Ver 3_Attachment 23 - 05-16-14 NC Transportation Dept to Resume Work on MB_20141126TAGS:
NC Transportation Department To Resume
Work On Monroe Bypass
By MICHAEL TOMSIC (/PEOPLE/MICHAEL-TOMSIC)
The North Carolina Department of
Transportation has received federal
approval to restart its work on the
Monroe Bypass. That toll road would
span from I-485 in Mecklenburg County
to U.S. 74 near Marshville in Union
County.
The Monroe Bypass had been held up
because a federal court ruled the state
failed to provide an adequate
environmental study for it. But Thursday, the Federal Highway Administration
approved an environmental impact statement for the project.
It's a disappointing decision for environmental advocates like Kym Hunters, staff
attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
"This project would cut through acres of farmland and natural habitat," she said, "so
what we're concerned about is not just that you'd be putting this massive new highway
through this very rural, beautiful area, but you'd also see a lot of development
sprawling out into the countryside."
Hunter contends there are less destructive and cheaper alternatives to ease traffic on
U.S. 74. But the state Department of Transportation says it will immediately resume
purchasing land along the route, conducting permit work and developing the project's
final design. Construction is now scheduled to start late this year or early next.
The Southern Environmental Law Center and other groups are considering another
legal challenge.
Monroe bypass (/term/monroe-bypass) Toll road (/term/toll-road) Environmental
impact (/term/environmental-impact) NC Department of Transportation (/term/nc-
department-transportation)
Listen
( /// f / /201 /0 /0 161 3)
1:19
(http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wfae/files/201209/MonroeByp
Proposed Monroe Bypass
Page 1 of 1NC Transportation Department To Resume Work On Monroe Bypass | WFAE
5/16/2014http://wfae.org/post/nc-transportation-department-resume-work-monroe-bypass
Attachment 23