Didn't see that coming

The N.C. Department of Transportation has stopped issuing new paving contracts for street maintenance because it has barely enough money to scrape by to the end of fiscal 2008-09, agency officials say.

Deputy Division 5 Engineer Joey Hopkins relayed word of the decision to the Durham-Orange-Chatham Transportation Advisory Committee this week, as he briefed members on the agency's financial problems.

With revenue from gas and vehicle-sales taxes running far short of projections, engineers in the seven-county division that includes Durham and Wake counties have only enough construction money to pay for safety-related improvements, some bridge replacements, and bridge maintenance, Hopkins said.

But routine street resurfacing has gone by the wayside.

"All that's been delayed," Hopkins said. "If that continues, that'll be a tremendous impact to our infrastructure health."

I have no idea if our new governor has the will or the skill to fix what is obviously a broken agency. Forget about building a transportation infrastructure for the 21st century. These guys can't even get us out of the 1950s.