CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. — $61 million — that's how much taxpayer money North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek says has been spent on the long-delayed Mid-Currituck Bridge Project. Boliek was in Currituck County on Monday presenting his report to leaders, with his message being that it's time to decide on the bridge's future.
"Not a single piece of dirt has been turned on that project after nearly 30 years of this process," said Boliek while he was addressing Currituck County commissioners on Monday.
"I think it's long overdue, as far as either yes or no," said Fred Shearin, a neighbor who attended the meeting on Monday.
Shearin tells News 3 that he lives a stone's throw from where the Mid-Currituck Bridge would be built if the project ever became a reality. Shearin attended the meeting on Monday because, like many neighbors, he ultimately wants to know if the project is ever going to happen.
"It's nice to see finally that somebody's taking it as important as we take it, and that Raleigh sees it from our perspective," said Shearin.
Boliek says his office is interested in this project because of what he describes as a lack of return on investment for taxpayers and wanting to bring more awareness to the project that's been talked about for more than 30-years.
"There's been no return on taxpayer dollar investment. $61 million plus spent on a bridge that doesn't exist is not acceptable to the taxpayers, and you know it shouldn't take that much money to make a decision, yes or no," said Boliek.
Boliek and his team have worked for months on this report and shared what he feels has been the hold-up for more than 30 years.
"I think the clearest indication is a lack of a willingness at the at the overarching statewide level to push the go button. When you have indecision like that, let's just be frank, particularly in an environment of increasing inflation, it's real easy to blame inflationary costs for expanding what will need to be expended on a project, and forget the fact that if we'd made the decision a decade and a half or two decades ago, this thing would already be built or not built one way or the other, and the dollars that have been allocated could be used to benefit the taxpayers," said Boliek.
Boliek feels someone needs to take the lead on deciding if this project will ever come to fruition.
"I think that the DOT (Department of Transportation) needs to be ready to take a lead on this, and let's make a decision to move forward or not move forward as quick as possible for the people of this part of the state of North Carolina, that would be my recommendation," said Boliek.
Right now, there's at least a $700 million gap for the proposed $1.2 billion two-lane tolled bridge. $173 million allocated for the project and the expected toll revenue brings the current total to around $400 million, well short of the expected cost.
News 3 reported back in April that the Albemarle Rural Planning Organization decided to keep the $173 million allocated for the project for now and aggressively search for funding opportunities to close that gap until April 2027.
Boliek says anything is possible on the future of this project. But he and neighbors like Fred feel neighbors deserve an answer.
"The question is, is it go or is it no go? And the folks in Currituck County, in northeastern North Carolina deserve an answer, and they deserve some movement," said Boliek.
At the end of the day, Boliek shares he hopes this is a report that can reach elected leaders and North Carolinians statewide.
"My hope is that this report from the State Auditor's Office brings some clarity and brings a lot of this information into a concise document and a place where people can go for authority on the issue. This is what's been spent, this is how the money's been spent, this is the timeline that's laid out now. Let's make a decision to move forward one way or the other with this data-driven report from the state auditor to make a decision," said Boliek.
You can find the full report from the Office of the State Auditor here.
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