Some area transportation officials are working to focus N.C. Department of Transportation’s attention on a project they say is critical to the long-term economic growth of southeastern North Carolina.

At their meeting Friday, members of the Cape Fear Rural Planning Organization’s (RPO)Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC) unanimously adopted a resolution asking that the NC DOT study the Interstate 74/U.S.-74 corridor in Brunswick and Columbus counties, according to a news release.

After the vote, Brunswick County commissioner and RTAC chairman Frank Williams, said in a statement,  “Upgrading Highway 74 between Wilmington and Charlotte is critical to the long-term economic growth of southeastern North Carolina.  Brunswick, Columbus and Pender counties will benefit from increased connectivity between I-140 and Charlotte, which will also improve inland access to the Port of Wilmington.” 

Williams explained in an interview Monday that the DOT’s Transportation Planning Branch will begin conducting corridor studies on some of the state’s major transportation corridors and plans to conduct one study each year.  
“It’s important to get 74 in the mix,” he said, adding, “What we’re most interested in is what route they designate.”

Several routes have been suggested, Williams said, but the committee feels that the Interstate should follow the current U.S. 74 corridor, especially east of the highway’s intersection with N.C. 211 at Bolton.

“At our meeting last week, it was unanimous,” he said.  “Everybody was very vocal about the importance of extending the corridor down to  Pender  County and I-140, and then to [Interstate] 40. That would bring it closer to the Port of Wilmington.”

An interstate stretching from Wilmington to Charlotte would also provide better access to Interstate 95 and would give an economic jolt to the rural counties along the corridor, Williams added.

Because upgrading U.S. 74 to interstate standards from Charlotte to Wilmington would have substantial cost, Williams said, and the only realistic way to get it done would be to break the project into small pieces, such as working on interchanges along the route.

“It makes more sense to segment it into smaller projects,” he said. “We’d be much more likely to get one interchange at a time funded than several hundred miles of interstate. This is a long-term project. We’re going to keep beating that drum.”