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WHEREAS, the NCDOT-recommended alternative bridge height is below that of <br />the existing bridge, is below the recommended height for trail crossings <br />in the Federal Highway Administration Enhancement Program as well as the <br />standards of the American Society of Transportation Officials, is below the height of NCDOT's I-44 <br />crossing of New Hope Creek that is presently under construction, is below the height recommended <br />by the organizations mentioned in the previous paragraph, will impair trail maintenance activities, will <br />preclude use of the trail for equestrian activities in the future; and <br />WHEREAS, the public and private investments to protect the New Hope Creek <br />Corridor have exceeded $4.5 Million; and <br />WHEREAS, an increase of bridge length of 100 feet could protect public and private <br />preservation investments of over three times the additional construction cost of a longer bridge; and <br />WHEREAS, the original bridge construction over New Hope Creek used large <br />amounts of fill across the New Hope Creek floodplain which impacts the natural hydrologic and wildlife <br />functions of the corridor; and <br />WHEREAS, the NCDOT Environmental Assessment does not consider the potential <br />ecological and recreation advantages that could accrue were the new bridge to be constructed to <br />remediate these extensive and previous environmental impacts; and <br />WHEREAS, the NCDOT Draft Transportation Improvements Budget {TIP) for <br />2004-2010 budgets $7,325,000 far this construction project, while current <br />NCDOT construction estimates total only $6,850,000 for the project; and <br />WHEREAS, there presently exists an estimated $475,000 in the TIP project <br />budget which could fund approximately one-half of the requested additional <br />bridge length without impacting the project budget; and <br />WHEREAS, the NCDOT proposes to cross one of the most important natural <br />corridor in the Triangle with a bridge that limits the New Hope Creek corridor's trail <br />options and threatens the public and private investments made to establish a wildlife <br />corridor in cooperation with Gity of Durham, Durham County and the Town of Chapel Hril, <br />IVOW THEREFORE, BE !T RESOLVED THAT THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD <br />OF COMMISSIONERS requests the North Carolina Department of Transportation revise <br />the Environmental Assessment to give due consideration of alternatives that provide <br />better remediation of past environmental degradation along New Hope Creek; are more <br />protective of Orange County's plans for use of the New Hope Creek Corridor, more <br />protective of the public and private investments made to protect the corridor and more <br />attentive to the environmental improvements associated with a longer bridge length; <br />FURTHERMORE, the Board of Commissioners expresses its support for bridge alternatives <br />with lengths longer than the NCDOT-preferred alternative that would be more cost-effective, protect <br />previous public investments in the corridor, provide more environmental protection for wildlife, and <br />permit trail uses that are flexible and diverse; in particular, expresses support for a bridge that is at <br />least 10 feet high and 340 feet long as well as 122 feet wide; <br />