Will Beaufort miss out on the opportunity I-44 would present? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: I must have missed this one a few days back. Still pertinent, so ... This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    Mark Finlayson, Director of the U. S. 17 Association, appeared before the Beaufort County Commission at its December meeting to present the "Economic Impact Study" that the Association has had done in support of continued development of U. S. 17. We'll have more to say about the study after our researchers have had an opportunity to analyze it, but suffice it to say here that as you watch the video of Mr. Finlayson's presentation you should keep in mind something we have repeatedly pointed out about these "economic impact studies." They simply cannot be accepted as reliable and valid, from a research perspective. Rather, they are political documents.

    The reason for this is the methodology used to make the economic projections cannot be replicated. In academic research that is a de facto fatal flaw in any study. The reason the projections, and therefore the conclusions, cannot be taken at face value is that the raw data is not furnished and the company that does the analysis will not release the computation methodology used. So it's like visiting the Wizard of Oz. There is a great, official sounding voice, but you cannot ever know what's behind the Green Curtain, in spite of Mr. Klemm's comments.

    Be that as it may, Mr. Finlayson did highlight one thing that we were surprised no one seemed to pick up on. He showed a map of Governor Pat McCrory's proposed I-44 route between Raleigh and Norfolk. The proposal would build an interstate road roughly along U. S. 64 from Raleigh to Williamston and then follow U. S. 17 to Virginia.

    Nobody spoke about the impact that route would have on Beaufort County, as well as Greenville and Pitt County. One would assume someone interested in those two counties would have questioned why U. S. 264 would not be used, particularly if the justification for the road is to tie medical complexes together and to make Vidant more readily accessible by vehicles.

    We have said repeatedly, ( here and here) that there is a real need for Beaufort County to have a direct connection to the ECU/Vidant Medical Complex to support residential growth in Beaufort County from those who work in the Medical Complex. Simply stated, we would contend that one of the best things that could happen to Beaufort County would be to have a connection from where the current U. S. 264 from Washington hits the Greenville by-pass, going straight across the by-pass and connecting to Arlington Boulevard on NC 43 near the new VA Medical Complex. I-44 would present such an opportunity to get that connector.

    We'll repeat it again: The economic future of Beaufort County, at least the western portion, is more tied to Greenville than it is to US 17 (New Bern and Williamson). We need a straight shot from Washington to the ECU/Vidant Medical Center area and a four-laned NC 33 from Chocowinity to the existing five-lane NC33 at the Simpson turnoff in order to tap into the jobs in Greenville for people who would choose to live in Beaufort and commute to work in Greenville.

    None of this is addressed in the video, but it's well worth watching: