North Carolina Turnpike Authority and NC
North Carolina Turnpike Authority and NC 540- Southeast Corridor Extension: How Policy Is Paving the Road by Julie Carol Canavin A project submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Natural Resources Raleigh, North Carolina 2012 Approved by advisory committee: Chair: Dr. Frederick Cubbage Committee Member: Dr. Gary Blank Committee Member: Dr. Ryan Emanuel October 2, 2012 ABSTRACT CANAVIN, JULIE CAROL. Master of Natural Resources-Policy Administration Technical Option. North Carolina Turnpike Authority and Southeast Corridor Extension: How Policy Is Paving the Road. The Piedmont area of North Carolina is growing at a rapid rate. In response to transportation, economic and social demands placed on the area, The North Carolina Turnpike Authority is moving ahead with its plans to complete the thirty mile extension of the Triangle Expressway through southern and eastern Wake County. This expressway would connect the towns of Clayton, Garner, Fuquay Varina, Holly Springs, Apex, Cary and Raleigh. In addition, it would ease congestion on secondary roads by connecting major roads such as I-440, I-40, NC-42, NC-55 and Ten-Ten Road. Following mandatory guidelines of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, the Turnpike Authority has analyzed a number of routes under consideration in addition to the preferred corridor. Alternative routes have drawn much attention and are under consideration for the 2012 decision deadline. These alternative routes have key policy issues or problems associated with them. The “orange route”, the long-term protected route of the Department of Transportation (DOT) since the mid-1990s, runs across major streams known to be the habitat of the endangered dwarf wedge mussel or alasmidonta heterodon (US Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.
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