The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1919-06-13
INTER COUNTY HIGHWAY
PROJECT in BAD SHAPE
s+ate Highway Commission Seems To Be Pitting
Counties Against The District Project And
State and Federal Aid is Doubtful

+ = 3eginning to look as if
n,.o.->4anz and other north
.s~--.-. North Carolina counties
-. e.-s.c % have hard shedding
" rr-.g 70 get state and fed
oo~, iii Tor their permanent
road projects.
o..-..-s--s Of state good roads legis- |.
,-.i,~ =- - !ast General Assembly re-
.,i,-- l.arged that all such state
"a, r---~.lt.on was designed to bene-
g. - q the larger cities in the
.-o4. 40 that all moneys would be
o,,-,,.---- 3.-erred to one or two central
,:y.u,,.- projects which would benefit
-, - cites. but would not benefit |
tba as 7veaIclly counties and the state
>, arg Many men in the General
,sar,!.-. fought state road legislation
=, -,.- .-,r last refusing to consent to
IN ;r---5~4 II taxation which they be-
Itay4.' could benefit only part of the
.-,+s -. charges of the opposition
,u-r. - repeatedly denied and in the
r,,R CESSATION finally enacted, the op-
ros:-.>.- US assured that every county
rol.I sara and share alike.
f,1.- II. Pasquotank Highway Com
,of,,.s I'd the Northeastern North
r,r..-nE District Highway Commission
~. h.g..--..ing to suspect what the op-
aona--- yf the state highway commits
so7 -; federal aid all along suspect
at TEAsa TWO commissions are un-
ab,e 70 get any satisfaction whatever
from ~. State Highway Commission
arI ,cs,,e are ready to believe that
Chsirrrl42 Page and his cabinet will
NOT ou- a cent of state and federal
rad funds in this corner of the state
if 5n.ra IS any way to get out of it.
" : Woodley, a. B. Houtz and ].
7 M3--!5 of the Pasquotank Highway
commission have Just returned from
secor.i trip to Raleigh in the inter-
e,ot 2asquotank road projects. They
fae. raat they are as far from state
aCi FEDERAL aid now as when they
st4r.ai and yet Pasquotank was one
of the first counties in line for state
and FEDERAL aid under the new state
highway act. PasquotaI2k has COM
pied with all the requirements OF the
law arl3 is entitled to every conslo-
eration, but all she gets is STALL
DISTRICT HIGHWAY IN DOUBT
The situation today is such that tbs
flte of the proposed district highway
from Edenton to the Virginia line, VIZ
FAtzabeth City and Moyock, is in doubt
The district highway is now py NJ
means j certainty. The State Hlgh
way Commission now holds that it cal
not deal with the District H1ghWa!
Commission at all. The only way I
viii consent to help the project IS up
or direct application from each of th
c0u1-;es in the district. This mean
thar if Dasauotank and the other lou
coI.c-ies in the road district ask TO
state aad federal aid for the d1stflc
hlzfwa.,. they will shut themselves ou
from STATE and federal aid for purel.
county projects.
F-.s,y.!otank now finds itself in thl
nraj;,ar7ant. Pasuuotank is entitled
to IT. expects state and federal al
for IL main highway from WeeksVlH
to .-24- Pasquotank. 1t is entlt1ed I
this - under every definition OF ted
era authorities. But if Pasquotan
Durs - 8 claim for funds for the dis
trig- E:slway. the chances seem to %
Pas1uo-ank will not get dollar TO
ler purely local projects. Chairma'
'a4se 81 the State Highway Comm1s
ion has emphaticaIy said there IS no
enough money to go round TINS yeai
ome Avan suspect that he has shre"o
Djtte1 the counties against the dis
-rict highway project in the expecta
or OF developing first class row ina
ill i l.sc~edit all projects in this sec
on
The pasouotank Highway Commls
on = reluctant to fall into tn
.herG- 20 sacrifice the county in tn
ltcres- Of q district highway proJec
specially in view of the fact that Pas
IOtaa!. assumes the biggest share Q
}e expense of building the propose
strICC highway.
The outlook for the district hlgh
ay t7 therefore very dark right
Is time. The proposed highway
,sou-ely dependent upon state an
deraI aid if it materializes. The Fere
9e act creating the district highWa
'mmission contemplated the bulloln
million dollar road and provide
bond issue of only five hundred thou
Ind dollars in anticipation of stat
ID federal aid. But there was a ma
the act and when the bonds Wer
cred for sale no purchaser Woul
Ggate TO take more than S25O,OOo
en-. The bidder in Of this amour
S never concluded the purchase an
g District Highway Commiss1o
snt d cent in the treasury at tn
te date. The failure now OF tt
te Highway Commission to com
coss with the expected state an
ierai aid will mean the blowing U
the beautiful million dollar intel
lnty highway project.
meantime the Pasquotank Higf
~ Commission determines not to re
Its efforts to get state and feder
for Pasquotank county roads. Tt
amission has applied for $150,O'
this money. 1t will either get it
ng the State Highway Commissic
show down. Failure to get tn
or something like it will indica
Fasquotank county that the sta
hlinlStration is not acting in got