State lawmakers in the Senate have tentatively passed a bill that would revive a federal study of a proposed section of the 540 Outer Loop highway across Wake County. Back in 2011, Garner residents convinced lawmakers to pass a bill that banned studying what's called the Red Route. It's a proposed part of the Outer Loop that would have required bulldozing parks and neighborhoods in Garner. Local leaders favor what's known as the Orange Route, but that would extend through wetlands that are home to an endangered mollusk. Federal officials won't consider that option without a full study comparing it to the Red Route. Republican Senator Neal Hunt is from Raleigh.
"We're in the unfortunate situation that's been described that the federal government requires this route be studied. There's no question that it ain't going to be built, nobody wants to build it, but it's gotta be studied. And if we want this 540 loop to be done in Wake County, then we need to go ahead and study the Red Route," says Hunt.
Hunt says the mayor of Garner is a friend who supports studying the Red Route, though he doesn't want it to be built.
