Ten Minutes With NCDOT's Gene Conti: Tolling, High Speed Rail Loom
Eugene A. "Gene" Conti Jr., secretary of the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation since 2009, is fighting the battle for transportation funding on multiple fronts, including a role in a Federal Highway Administration pilot program that could enable tolls on the state's 182-mile stretch of Interstate 95 as a way to pay for upgrades.
The state already is building a new $1-billion tolled freeway near Raleigh-Durham. A former U.S. Transportation Dept. assistant secretary for policy and design firm vice president as well as current chairman of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' rail committee, he discusses key coming transportation issues with ENR Southeast Editor Scott Judy.