According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “…the single biggest obstacle to building infrastructure of the future is a broken permitting system.”(1) In addition to this “broken permitting system,” North Carolina has an extra layer of bureaucracy to contend with in the form of the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) intransigence in negotiations.
The North Carolina Railroad Company is a private business corporation with one hundred percent of the stock owned by the state of North Carolina.(2) As a private business corporation, the NCRR has minimal reporting requirements and little if any accountability.(3)
Originally the U.S. 70 upgrade in James City was to be complete by the end of 2023. The completion date now has been pushed another year or more due to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC DOT) waiting for permits from the NCRR.(4)
In 2019 the Durham-Orange Light Rail, a long-sought project was killed because the NCRR sent a letter to GoTriangle stating it would not sign off on necessary approvals until several last-minute impossible demands had been met.(5)
Because millions had been spent advancing the light rail project, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) requested information, and then eventually sued the NCRR for the information. The SELC contended that the NCRR should be deemed a state government agency for the purposes of the Public Records Act. On August 13, 2021, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that as a private corporation, the NCRR was not subject to the Public Records Act.(6) Let that resonate for a second; a state-owned asset’s governing body does not have to disclose information to us the owners.
In 2015 the NCRR refused numerous requests from the Carolina Journal to turn over records that might reveal where it obtained millions of dollars to complete land purchases for the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. Board Chairman Franklin Rouse refused to share the minutes. “It is our policy to not share confidential economic development or other information which can affect active negotiations, legal matters or economic development projects.”(7)
In the offing was an investment of $2.3 Billion dollar Toyota-Mazda automobile manufacturing project that eventually went to Huntsville, Alabama instead. Later it was announced that Toyota plans to locate a 1.3 Billion dollar battery plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.
During their November 16, 2023 meeting, the New Bern Board of Aldermen approved a resolution authorizing the submission of an application for funding to study a flood-prone portion of the city’s railroad corridor. Once the study is complete, the plan calls for a further grant application for construction work to improve the flow of stormwater in the area.
Norfolk Southern and North Carolina Railroad Co., which own the rail line property, would ultimately have to approve the work. City staff have contacted NCRR but have not received a response yet.(8) Does that sound familiar?
Dissolution is the Solution
Enough is enough, contact your state Legislators:
4. Here’s why the U.S. 70 project has been delayed another year – Symone Graham, Sun Journal
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