N.C. Transportation Board asks for ferry tolls extension

Convinced that more time is needed to effectively develop a plan to implement ferry tolls across the entire state ferry system, members of the North Carolina Board of Transportation voted unanimously Oct. 8 to ask the General Assembly to extend the deadline beyond Jan. 1, 2027.

Joy Crist, editor of Island Free Press based in Hatteras, reported that while meeting at the Hickory Metro Convention Center & Visitors Bureau in Hickory, Board of Transportation member Mike Fox, an attorney in Greensboro, introduced a motion to request a legislative delay.

 

He commended the fine work completed thus far by personnel associated with the Ferry Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Crist said, but Fox also noted the division was operating “under an unusually tight deadline” and needed more time to develop “an effective and sustainable tolling system.”

“One of my biggest concerns is…we don’t have enough time to really do this right and do it thoroughly,” Fox was quoted as saying.

“I would strongly encourage this board to ask the staff to go back to the legislature and ask for some more time. I just think this is a this is ‘too rushed a job.’ You have done everything you can do, but it’s just too short a time period to do something like this.”

Crist reported that “Fox initially proposed asking the legislature for a delay until at least April 1.”

Following discussion, he amended the motion to have the board adopt a resolution requesting an unspecified amount of additional time to study and implement the tolling system.

The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Lisa Mathis, a small business owner and an artist in Sanford. The motion passed without opposition, Crist said.

 

Much of the meeting dealt with the ferry tolls issue, and Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon unveiled the proposed fee structure for the four ferry routes that are presently free. 

The proposed basic one-way charge for a single normal-sized vehicle is $7 on the Aurora-Bayview, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach and Currituck-Knotts Island ferry runs.

However, the proposed basic rate on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is $10 per trip. The reason why is unclear.

(Rates on the three currently tolled vehicle routes – Cedar Island-Ocracoke, Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Southport-Fort Fisher – would remain unchanged on Jan. 1 under the proposal.)

Board member Tess Judge of Kitty Hawk, who has an extensive background in hospitality management, emphasized that the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry is not simply a transportation convenience but an essential highway for island residents, Crist said.

 

“Ocracoke has no other way. The waterway is the highway for the citizens who live in Ocracoke,” Judge said.

She raised concerns about needing to address the priority boarding arrangements for Ocracoke-Hatteras locals who “depend on the ferry to reach medical appointments on the Outer Banks, particularly during the busy summer months when vehicle lines can stretch for hours. Without priority boarding,” Judge said, “residents could miss essential appointments or be forced to travel the night before.”

Judge is urging North Carolina lawmakers to consider the unique circumstances facing Ocracoke before the new tolling system takes effect, Crist reported.

“It is about sustaining their everyday life as they live on Ocracoke Island,” Judge said.

 

NCDOT is now accepting public comments on the ferry fees and rate structure, continuing through Oct. 23, to allow residents to review the recommended rates and provide feedback before the Board of Transportation’s next scheduled meeting on Nov. 5.

Comments can be submitted online at publicinput.com/ferry-tolling, by email at ferry-tolling@publicinput.com or by calling (984) 205-6615 and referencing project code 10744.

Access Dixon’s full presentation at ncdot.gov/news.

N.C. Ports Authority asks to ‘pause’ massive harbor project

Environmental groups are applauding the issuance of correspondence by the North Carolina State Ports Authority that virtually guarantees extended delays associated with “the Wilmington (N.C.) Harbor Navigation Expansion Project.”

 

Cece Nunn, managing editor of Greater Wilmington Business Journal, reported on Oct. 5 that Brian E. Clark, executive director of N.C. State Ports Authority, wrote a letter requesting that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) “suspend further consideration” indefinitely on the project.

 

Nunn said the Ports Authority has been working for 10 years to deepen the Cape Fear River and Wilmington Harbor from 42 to 47 feet to accommodate larger, fully loaded ships. The deepening project carried an estimated price tag of $1.35 billion.

According to Nunn, Clark stated in his letter, “While we are certain the economic benefits from such a project could have lasting positive impacts on the entire state, what has become clear during this process is a need to pause and give adequate study and reflection to the potential environmental impacts of a project of this magnitude, including the potential impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS.”

Curiously, the letter was dated Sept. 18, 2026. 

It isn’t mentioned in the “News Releases” section on the Ports Authority website (as of Oct. 9).

Nunn said the USACE issued its final reports on the proposed deepening in July 2026, acknowledging that “uncertainties remain concerning PFAS, which are chemicals that have polluted the Cape Fear River for decades and could be found in sediment dredged in the harbor deepening.”

“Known contamination exists upstream, but it is not known if the sediment proposed to be dredged is contaminated. At the time this EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) was prepared, this concern and the associated controversy remain, and the lack of resolution is hindering resolution of other issues that require state agency approvals and certifications,” the July report stated.

Nunn stated that Clark’s letter asserts that the Ports Authority has a responsibility to ensure that it proceeds in a thoughtful and thorough manner. Therefore, it is in the best interests of the state and our host communities that we pause and allow our next steps to be guided by sound science and rigorous research.”

Clark’s letter also stressed that the Ports Authority values its partnership and “close working relationship” with the USACE Wilmington District.

“We are embarking on our new strategic plan, which calls for an overall increase in tonnage traversing the Wilmington Harbor,” Clark said. “We will no doubt lean on that close relationship while we seek to utilize the current channel to the fullest extent possible.”

Erin Carey, deputy director of the N.C. Chapter of Sierra Club, based in Raleigh, told the Greater Wilmington Business Journal that the chapter applauds “the Ports Authority’s decision to pull back from the Wilmington Harbor expansion project.”

 

“From the very beginning, this project has demonstrated highly questionable economic value for the people of the Cape Fear region,” Carey said. “Environmentally, there are many harmful outcomes, from threatening wetlands that provide habitat and protect communities from flooding, to dredging that would stir up PFAS settled in sediment on the harbor floor.”

“We’re glad that the Ports Authority recognizes not only these threats, but the lack of any practical need for expanding the harbor,” she added.

Also commenting on the Wilmington Harbor issue was Trista Talton, a staff writer with CoastalReview.org, the news service operated by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which is based in the community of Ocean on N.C. Route 24 in Carteret County.

 

In a post dated Oct. 6, Talton said the scope of the harbor project extends for about 28 miles from the mouth of the Cape Fear River up to the port at Wilmington. Some sections of the river were also scheduled for widening “to accommodate larger, deep-draft container vessels. Authority officials have argued that deepening the shipping channel will attract more import and export business and boost job growth in the state.”

“The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management raised objections earlier this year about the proposed project,” Talton said. “Division officials argued that the draft EIS failed to adequately assess cumulative flooding impacts or thoroughly detail areas where dredged material would be placed, did not sufficiently account for potential effects on fisheries habitat, freshwater wetlands, shorelines, or state, historic and other sites along the river, and did not evaluate PFAS in the lower Cape Fear River sediment.”

“The river, which is the drinking water source for tens of thousands of North Carolinians, has for decades been polluted by upstream dischargers that use human-made chemical compounds commonly referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their resistance to breaking down in the environment.

Hannah Nelson, a staff attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center office in Chapel Hill, told CoastalReview: “We applaud the Ports Authority for setting this expansion aside, and I hope that state officials can now prioritize action that protects the Cape Fear River and the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it each and every day.”

 

“There are already ways to reach the economic goals in the area using our existing channel,” Nelson said. “We don’t need to be deepening just for the sake of deepening, so I’m glad to see that they’re planning to utilize what they already have and hoping that any future development comes with rigorous analysis and a resilience approach.”

North Carolina Coastal Federation Coastal Management Program Director Kerri Allen said the organization appreciates the Ports Authority’s decision to pause consideration of the proposed project.

 

“This is an important step that gives us the opportunity to take a thoughtful, science-backed look at the potential environmental impacts of a project of this scale,” Allen said. “For years, partners, along with residents, researchers and others, have raised questions about those impacts, including the potential risks associated with PFAS.

“Those questions deserve careful study, and we’re encouraged that the Port recognizes they shouldn’t be constrained by a predetermined timeline,” Allen said. “We look forward to continuing to engage constructively as this work moves forward and making sure future decisions are grounded in sound science and protect the long-term health of the Cape Fear River and our coastal communities.”

October is a great time to travel US Route 70 through Texas

Updating a previously published column:

Exiting Oklahoma, US Route 70 crosses the Red River of the South into the Lone Star State near Oklaunion, Texas. 

From there, the highway (known as the “Texas Plains Trail”) cuts across the Texas panhandle toward New Mexico.

 

This is a great time of year to travel along the route, as farmers are busy harvesting pumpkins in and around Floydada, the “Pumpkin Capital of America.” (Floydada is pronounced “floy-DAY-dah.)

 

Floydada is the county seat of Floyd County. Both were named after Dolphin Ward Floyd of Nash County, N.C., who was born in 1804. 

One genealogist said that Dolphin Floyd caught “Texas fever” in 1825 and moved west, finally settling on a farm near Gonzales, Texas, in 1832.

During the Texas Revolution, Floyd joined the Gonzales Rangers. The men arrived at the besieged Alamo in San Antonio on March 1, 1836, to join the Alamo defenders who were fighting for independence from Mexico.

 

The unit from Gonzales was memorialized as the “Immortal 32.” Dolphin Ward Floyd was killed March 6, 1836, on his 32nd birthday. 

A Texas state historic marker on the Floyd County courthouse lawn in Floydada tells the full story.

 

Floydada area farmers anticipate harvesting about 2 million pumpkins this year. Pumpkins thrive here because the climate is ideal – arid and mild with cool winters and hot summers. 

Some of the “Big Mac” variety pumpkins top 100 pounds.

 

One of the local celebrities in Floydada is Jason Nutt, a country music singer/songwriter. His band is named “Jason Nutt and Highway 70.”

 

Farther west on US Route 70 is Muleshoe, another interesting place to explore.

Muleshoe was formed in 1913 when the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway came through. A settlement rose up along the tracks on property that was part of the prominent Muleshoe ranch. Folks were content to “borrow” the name Muleshoe.

The centerpiece of the community is the National Mule Memorial, a fiberglass sculpture of “Old Pete,” a real mule that was owned by a local rancher. 

 

They do love their mules in Muleshoe. The city’s logo features a kicking mule. Muleshoe High School’s nickname is Mules.

 

Located on US Route 70 in New Mexico, between Alamagorda and Las Cruces, is the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range. 

Occupying approximately 3,200 square miles across five counties, it the largest military installation in the country. 

Motorists are advised: US Route 70 is subject to temporary roadblocks and safety closures during active missile test firings.

 

Another important chapter of the US Route 70 story relates to the discovery of “12 ghost miles” in Arizona.

 

Historian Robert VanBuhler revealed that between Bylas and Safford, the mileposts “adjust” from 314 to 326. He asked: “Did someone forget to order 315 to 325, or were they misplaced? Did the road crew leave them out as a prank?”

 

VanBuhler checked with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for an explanation and was told that “the mystery gap” is called an “equation” and not a mistake.

 

“The milepost markers needed to correct the mileage to the New Mexico border,” VanBuhler wrote.

ADOT’s spokesperson explained that US Route 70 initially followed the old Gila River Trail, which was used by wagons and railroads in the 1800s.

The location of the highway was later affected by construction of Coolidge Dam on the Gila River in 1930. 

In 1956, US Route 70 was readjusted to the original – and 12 miles shorter – route.

ADOT figured the best solution was to remove 12 mileposts in a remote section of the highway, “rather than go to the expense of changing all the mile markers” going east and west.

Hugo, Okla., welcomes US 70 travelers to ‘Circus Town USA’

Updating a previously published column:

One of the most interesting places to visit on US Route 70 is Hugo, Okla. The city was formed in 1901 and designated as the county seat for Choctaw County, when the railroad came through.

Hugo takes its name from French author Victor Hugo, whose famous works include “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame” (1831) and “Les Misérables” (1862). 

Hugo was the favorite writer of Lina Burford Darrough, wife of Arkansas and Choctaw Railroad surveyor William Harrison Darrough.)

Beginning in the early 1940s, Hugo became known as “Circus City USA.” That’s because the place was teeming with circus people and their animals during the winter months.

The traveling circuses during that era would camp in Hugo from December through March, because of a mild climate due to its location between the Kiamichi Mountains and the Red River of the South.

This small city in southern Oklahoma, conveniently situated on US Route 70, a major east-west transcontinental highway, “offered a respite from harsh winters, making it ideal for circus troupes to rest, repair their gear and train for the next season,” wrote journalist James Pratt of Edmond, Okla.

The first to come in 1941 was Obert Miller, founder of the Kelly Miller Circus, which originated in Wilson, Kan. Word spread and soon Hugo became a magnet for more than 20 other traveling circuses.

“Hugo became a bustling off-season hub, with circus performers, animal trainers and roustabouts forming a tight-knit community,” Pratt said.

The Kelly Miller Circus began in 1937, literally as “a small dog and pony show,” in a tent that was hand-sewn by Obert Miller and his two sons, Dores Richard “D.R.” and Kelly.

Obert and his wife, Mary, worked the animal acts and handled the bookings. Kelly sold tickets and clowned. His wife, Dale, played the calliope. D.R. and his wife, Isla, did a wire act and trapeze.

The show steadily grew and expanded. By 1950, it had reached the stature of being one of the country’s major motorized circuses and was noted for carrying the largest menagerie of wild animals.

Although the “traveling circus business” is no longer booming, a few companies have survived, including Kelly Miller, Carson & Barnes, Culpepper & Merriweather and The Great Benjamins circuses. All have ties to Hugo.

About 5,130 people live in Hugo today, and they cling to their “circus city” heritage. Many US Route 70 tourists come to reverently meander through the “Showmen’s Rest” section of the town’s cemetery.

Writing for Oklahoma Living magazine, Heide Brandes said that D.R. and Isla Miller created Showmen’s Rest in 1960 to pay tribute to “all showmen under God’s big top, from animal trainers to jugglers to high wire artists.”

The graves of Obert and Mary Miller form the centerpiece. Their marker is etched with the main entrance of a circus, complete with ticket booth.

“In Showmen’s Rest, the final curtain has fallen, but the show, somehow, goes on,” Brandes said.

In 1993, D.R. and Isla Miller established the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo as a 250-acre preserve for retired circus elephants. The Miller family’s herd of 16 Asian elephants is one of the largest in the United States. The males and females reside in separate barns on the ranch.

“Visitors can get an up-close look at the majestic creatures, feed them and see how they’re pampered in retirement,” according to Karyn Olmos, executive director of Endangered Ark.

The Hugo Area Chamber of Commerce was one of the first organizations to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of US Route 70, promoting a resolution that received an overwhelmingly favorable vote in the Oklahoma State Senate on April 7, 2026.