Beaufort thinks small, while Pitt thinks big | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

Beaufort's future is to the west if our leaders grasp the vision

The Greenville Daily Reflector is reporting:

    A $300 million Interstate loop that will connect more than 100 miles of jet ports, medical centers, private industry and college campuses across eastern North Carolina gained considerable ground last week when state legislators recognized the project as possibly the missing link to widespread regional growth.

    Developed by Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas, the highway system is being branded as the foundation of "Quad East," a cooperative network of communities united to give the coastal plain a competitive economic advantage, much like the alliances formed in the Piedmont Triad, Research Triangle and Charlotte Metro areas.

    The Greenville City Council plans to take the lead on Thursday by passing a resolution in support of the measure, with the hope that municipalities and boards of commissioners in Pitt, Greene, Lenoir, Wilson, Nash and Wayne counties will follow in March and April.

    Click here to go to the original source.

    Note the counties involved. It is regrettable that Beaufort is not one of those listed.

    We don't know, nor does anyone, exactly where this proposed road would go but this we do know: There is a real need for Beaufort to have a direct access to the Medical Complex in Greenville. We think anyone would be hard pressed to come up with anything that would have more potential impact on Beaufort County than a time-efficient route directly to NC 43 west of Memorial Dr. in Greenville. The idea would be to extend U. S. 264 from where it now hits the Greenville by-pass across south of Mumford Rd., across Memorial Dr. and connecting to NC 43 at Arlington Blvd. Of course, much of this corridor is in the flood plan so a considerable portion of the connector would have to be elevated much as the new Washington By-pass is.

    We would suggest that Beaufort County would be much better off with an efficient way for people who work in the Medical District to commute efficiently to western Beaufort County than it would to try to bribe companies to locate in the Industrial Park. Residential development between the Washington By-pass and the Pitt County line would do much to bring money into Beaufort County by making this area a "bedroom community" for those who work in Greenville but do not want to live in Pitt County. There is already sewer as far west as Mt. Olive College/Flanders and it would be efficient simply to extend it to the county line to support higher density residential development. Put a bright, shiny new K-8 school with a top notch magnet program in the vicinity of Wharton Station Rd. and you've got the makings of an economic engine far in excess of anything Beaufort County has now. It certainly would exceed anything U. S. 17 has to offer Beaufort County, beyond its "drive-by" role. Just ponder how much better off Beaufort would be with this U. S. 264 connector than it is with the more expensive U. S. 17 By-pass.

    Mt. Olive College, the most readily available four-year degree granting program to Beaufort County residents is already positioned to support a highly skilled workforce and in many ways is Beaufort County's greatest asset, but one you never hear mentioned by our local leaders who tout themselves as "economic development" experts. Indeed, the same ones who would put a prison right in the middle of this prime development area.

    But this would require a collaborative effort between Washington, Greenville, Pitt and Beaufort counties. And that would require a paradigm shift in the way our leaders in Washington and Beaufort county now think. For example, the future of Warren Field should be planned in conjunction with PGV and an efficient connector would help there. Has anyone ever considered selling Warren to PGV? And a freeway connector should ultimately allow for greater collaboration between Vidant Beaufort and Vidant Pitt hospitals but even more importantly facilitate ancillary companies efficient proximity. Eventually the Medical District in west Greenville will need space to expand.

    We realize we're dreaming and the cost would be enormous. Nonetheless, we would suggest to our Beaufort County leaders that Beaufort's future lies more in the Medical Complex in Greenville than it does in anywhere else. We don't need the jobs located in Beaufort as much as we need the people who have jobs in Greenville to locate in Beaufort. And to do that requires three things: efficient transportation, available utilities and good schools. But above all that, it requires greater collaboration between Washington, Greenville, Pitt and Beaufort.