CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An attorney hired by N.C. State Treasurer Janet Cowell is questioning the legality of a plan to finish the final leg of I-485.
In a memo released Thursday evening, Charlotte attorney Steve Cordell said he believes the N.C. Department of Transportation does not have the authority under state law to borrow money for road projects.
Governor Bev Perdue last month said the DOT would ask a contractor to finance a portion of the $185 million cost for completing the last five miles of the outer loop.
The governor's office has said the contractor-financed construction, which has never been used in North Carolina, was vetted by the state's attorney general.
In the memo to Treasury staff, Cordell, an attorney for the law firm McGuire Woods, writes the finance plan would likely be overturned if challenged in court.
Charlotte Mayor-elect Anthony Foxx said he is concerned about the questions surrounding the governor's proposal, but believes state officials will settle their differences so construction can begin next year.
"When you do something new it raises issues and questions," Foxx told NewsChannel 36. "It’s just a matter of letting them iron out the details that they have to iron out."
