GASTON COUNTY, N.C.,None — Construction could start on the first toll road in the Charlotte area next year.
The Garden Parkway would stretch from west Charlotte to Bessemer City.
Now that federal officials have approved the plan for the parkway, Margret Floyd said she feels like the fight is done.
“I feel like it's over,” she said.
She and dozens of Gaston County residents went to Raleigh, hoping to get state lawmakers to block the proposed road that would go right through her neighborhood. The state will pay for her home, but she said they can't replace it.
“I bought this home when I was young to have somewhere after I (was) done, got old, and now it's gone,” Floyd said.
The chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization said the toll road will ease congestion on Interstate 85 and decrease air pollution.
“It's necessary,” Joe Carpenter said. “It's just a fact of the matter.”
He said construction could start next year.
“Well I think we are full steam ahead,” Carpenter said. “There are some people that oppose it."
Those opponents say the road is too expensive.
The state would have to pay $35 million a year for 40 years with hopes that the toll road would eventually pay for itself.
The leader of the group that wants to stop the toll road said the coming election may offer the best opportunity. He said he’s looking for support from voters backing candidates who promise serious budget cuts.
More information:
MAP: Garden Parkway Proposed Route
