East-west vehicle congestion in the Exit 36 area of I-77 is such that another route for traffic crossing I-77 in Mooresville would be welcome. Nobody disputes that. But a developer's push to have a $9.5 million bridge built to connect Oates Road on the east to Midnight Lane on the west was a bad idea on several fronts.
First, its off-the-beaten-path location – a relatively quiet road just north of N.C. 150, near the Talbert Road Business Park -- would have deterred some motorists from using it.
Second, it's likely that property owners in that area would have been forced to help pay for it. Neither the state nor town has the money to fund the bridge, and town officials discussed financing the project by setting up a special assessment district. That, in effect, would force nearby landowners to pony up for the cost.
In the end, town commissioners wisely decided the plan isn't doable financially. On Monday, they accepted a feasibility study as "information" instead of adopting it, essentially putting the whole plan on ice where it belongs.
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