Monroe Connector/Bypass
Kym Hunter and Kate Asquith
October 23, 2013
Southern Environmental Law Center
• We are a public interest environmental law firm with offices
throughout the Southeast, including two offices in North
Carolina.
• We represent public interest groups for free.
• One of our primary focus areas is transportation and land use
policies and practices throughout the Southeast.
Why do local groups care about the Bypass?
• Local environmental groups
including the North Carolina
Wildlife Federation, Clean Air
Carolina, and the Yadkin
Riverkeeper have been involved
with the Bypass for many years.
• On behalf of these clients, we
brought and won the recent
lawsuit challenging NCDOT’s
review of the Bypass.
• Congestion on U.S. 74 is a problem, but we believe there are less
costly ways to fix the corridor.
• Local communities deserve to be informed about the Monroe
Bypass’s purpose and its likely impacts.
Overview of the Project
Proposed Monroe Bypass
Proposed Monroe Bypass
• 19.7-mile 4-lane highway from Marshville to Stallings
• Planned as a toll road, with preliminary toll estimate of
$2.50 each way for passenger vehicles and $10.27 for large
trucks
• 9 interchanges through undeveloped areas of Union County
• Construction cost estimate of about $900 million
• Cost not covered by toll revenue; $24 million/year
appropriated out of scarce NCDOT funds for 30 years
• Expected to save, at most, only 8-12 minutes
• It is projected to offer larger time savings by 2035, but only
because NCDOT expects traffic on U.S. 74 to get much worse
Legal Challenge to the Bypass
Charlotte Observer, November 19, 2012
• The United States Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
ruled against NCDOT, finding
it misled the public and
other agencies.
• The court recognized that
the flawed review masked
the Bypass’s impacts and
prevented a fair comparison
of alternatives.
• The Court ordered NCDOT to
re-evaluate its review of the
Bypass.
Since the Court’s Decision . . .
• NCDOT is re-evaluating its environmental review, and plans
to issue a new document reaffirming much of its old data
and conclusions.
• We’ve been in Union County talking with elected officials,
local communities, and individuals about the impact of the
Bypass and potential alternatives.
• Union County citizens and local governments alike have
begun calling for NCDOT to reconsider the Bypass.
How would the Bypass impact
traffic in Union County?
Not designed to benefit local traffic
• NCDOT has regularly admitted that the Bypass was never
intended, nor is it expected, to much improve current traffic flow
on U.S. 74.
• In fact, NCDOT admits it “would not be in favor of changes to US-
74 that would have a competing interest with the Bypass.”
• NCDOT’s documents demonstrate that they expect a travel time
savings to be at most, only 8-12 minutes.
• At a cost of $900 million, that is approximately $100 million per
minute!
• NCDOT says the Bypass’s travel time savings will increase to 20-30
minutes in the future, but only because NCDOT expects
congestion on U.S. 74 to increase dramatically.
NCDOT expects the Bypass to have a much smaller
impact on travel time than originally projected.
From an April 18, 2013 memorandum from consultant HNTB to Jennifer Harris, NCDOT
NCDOT consultant’s findings for
existing traffic conditions on U.S. 74
From a May 23, 2013 email between NCDOT staff and consultants
Result? NCDOT predicts the Bypass will provide
minimal travel time savings
Unfair Tolls• In Raleigh, drivers on the
Triangle Expressway pay $2.34
for an estimated 20 minutesin travel time savings.
• Drivers on the Monroe Bypass
will pay $2.58 for an
estimated travel time savings of
8-12 minutes.
• Union County drivers who want
to use the Bypass will pay more
than double what Raleigh
drivers pay for each minute
saved.
From NCDOT’s Comprehensive Traffic & Revenue Study (Sept. 2010)
Would anyone really use the Bypass?
• NCDOT admits trucking companies were mixed as to
whether truck drivers would pay initial toll rates of $10.27,
and has not reevaluated truckers’ willingness to pay in light
of new projections showing decreased travel time savings.
• NCDOT has not studied exactly how much of the truck traffic
on U.S. 74 is local and how much is through traffic.
• NCDOT’s revenue study was based on assumption of
20-30 mph travel speeds in the U.S. 74 corridor. But their
records show that the 2013 travel speed was 40-50 mph.
• NCDOT assumes large increases in traffic volume in the U.S.
74 Corridor in the future, pushing drivers onto the Bypass.
But NCDOT saw no such increases between 2007 and 2012.
How would the Bypass impact
growth in Union County?
NCDOT says growth is not expected
NCDOT has
consistently
claimed
that the
Bypass will
have less
than 1%
impact on Union
County’s
overall
growth.
NCDOT’s Latest Growth Data
NCDOT predicts
that commercial
growth will shift
to the areas
around the
Bypass
interchanges.
Instead, NCDOT expects the Bypass
to affect where growth occurs.
NCDOT has
admitted that
this growth shift
could negatively
impact the
potential for
commercial
development in
downtown
Monroe.
Many locals think
the Bypass will result in growth
• Local groups, like the Union County Chamber of
Commerce, think the Bypass will spur growth.
• Several local town councils have expressed the worry that
the type of growth they expect from building the Bypass
would cause more of a strain on county services than it
would pay in taxes, increasing Union County’s
overall tax burden.
• Local communities cannot effectively plan without an
honest evaluation of the Bypass’s likely growth impacts.
• The Bypass would destroy at least 499
acres of active agricultural lands.
• Several families will lose farms that have been in their possession for
over a hundred years, in one case since
before the Revolutionary War.
• Ninety-five households, 47
businesses, and three churcheswill be forced to relocate. The road will
also disturb seven neighborhoods.
Other Impacts in Union County
What will help Union County
travelers?
But is there a more cost-effective solution
than the proposed Monroe Bypass?
What Could NCDOT Do?
• Reopen consideration of alternatives to the Monroe Bypass
actually focused on fixing traffic on U.S. 74.
• Consider updating existing parallel roads.
• Revisit NCDOT’s own 2007 report, which detailed an estimated
$13.2 million in improvements to U.S. 74 that would provide a
satisfactory Level of Service for 22 out of 23 signalized
intersections from Stallings to U.S. 601.
• NCDOT has begun to implement some of these ideas.
Prudence requires NCDOT re-evaluate the need for and
efficacy of the Bypass in light of these changes.
Improvements to Parallel Routes
1. Monroe Road Loop: already on 2040 MTP
Candidate Projects List; new road (continuing the
recently completed Martin Luther King Boulevard)
from Secrest Short Cut Road near Monroe Mall to
Walkup Road at the east end of Monroe.
0
Monroe Bypass/Connector Preferred Route
Monroe Rd Loop (MTP 269-270) added
Improvements to Parallel Routes
2. Old Charlotte Road/Old Monroe Highway:
several segments already under consideration for
widening to multi-lane in Matthews, Stallings,
and Indian Trail.
Old Charlotte Highway added
Improvements to Parallel Routes (cont.)
3. Secrest Short Cut Road: not currently on any MTP
Candidate Project List, but follows the proposed
Bypass for much of its length and could be widened
to multi-lanes and otherwise improved to carry
traffic much more safely and conveniently for local
residents.
Secrest Short Cut Rd / Unionville-Indian Trail Rd added
Other Improvements to U.S. 74
• Signalization improvements/elimination
• “Superstreet” upgrades to intersections
• Additional overpasses to reduce number of
signalized intersections
• Additional lanes in some places of U.S. 74
• Service roads for business access, leaving U.S. 74
primarily for through traffic
• Fewer side streets crossing U.S. 74 directly, resulting
in better U.S. 74 mobility
Why Should You Care?
• It’s not clear that the toll road, as designed, will
actually help people in Union County.
• $900 million is a lot to spend with so many
questions remaining, especially if U.S. 74 can be
fixed for much less.
• Union County has immediate road-improvement
and maintenance needs that NCDOT is currently
not meeting.
• If the Bypass spurs massive new commuter-
subdivision growth, the cost to service those new
homes will fall on ALL Union County taxpayers.
Is there a better way to
meet Union County’s needs?
Let’s find out!
Top Related