Transportation fund would ride on $7 car fee (News and Observer)
Published Wed, Apr 21, 2010 06:56 AM
Modified Wed, Apr 21, 2010 12:16 AM
The governor called Tuesday for a $7 increase in car registration fees as part of a plan to establish a fund for big statewide transportation projects.
Her budget proposal included $94.6 million to create the N.C. Mobility Fund. In a letter to the legislature, Perdue said the fund would “address critical congestion bottlenecks.”
Durham Mayor Bill Bell praised the proposal.
“We believe infrastructure spending such as this will both create jobs and address the urgent congestion needs in our state,” said Bell, chairman of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, an advocacy group for urban needs.
It wasn’t clear how Mobility Fund projects would be selected or who would pick them.
Administration officials said most of the money for the first two years would be earmarked for a $150 million project to widen a four-lane section of Interstate 85 near the antiquated Yadkin River bridge at Salisbury.
To create the fund, Perdue would turn to two sources: She called for increases in Division of Motor Vehicles fees worth $72.6 million. Her budget would generate $48.9 million by adding 25 percent or $7 to car registration fees, now $28. An additional $17 million would come from a 25 percent increase in the fees insurance companies pay for copies of driver license records.
Staff writer Bruce Siceloff
