Soon it will be over. The Department of Transportation said its committee will have made a decision about the Highway 52 bypass. My efforts, as well as many others, to voice an opinion concerning the bypass may have been in vain.

Despite feeling helpless to governmental powers of imminent domain, you always hope for fairness and integrity from your government. The best route that could cost taxpayers the least and has the least environmental damage should be chosen. However, too many times, roads have been political, and one or a few persons may have had their way over a majority or over honest and valid opposition. I have never experienced this, but there are such stories from all across North Carolina. Maybe it’s my naivete, but I still believe what’s right will prevail.

Several years ago when the first news came out about the Highway 52 bypass, Ibecame personally involved. Imet with head DOT officials, state representatives, federal representatives, our local DOT representative and attorneys. All in all, Ispoke with some 30 DOT heads, engineers, secretaries and officials. Each one assured me that any decision concerning the Highway 52 bypass would not be political or based on politicians’ wishes, but would be based on “factors of primary importance.”Those three factors are costs, environmental impact and human environmental impact.

I became involved, attending the DOT-sponsored public hearings, reading their Transportation-Improvement-Plan reports and discussing the specifics with DOT officials at the meetings. Eventually, the DOT narrowed its decision down to 12 alternatives that are variations of two main routes: the western route nearer to the existing 52, and the eastern route farther away from the existing 52.

Well, the information is in. The western route costs more (millions and millions). The western route affects more wetlands, stream footage and ponds. The western route is longer. The western route disrupts more families and homes. It affects more secondary roads and twice as many major power lines.

The decision seems easy, but wait a minute. Rockwell and Granite Quarry can’t make money. Either the eastern route is too far away for them to annex and tax or they are afraid that beach travelers won’t stop by for a soda. The politicians of these small towns feel industries won’t build nearby and the loss of these potential taxes hurts.

If the town officials really didn’t want to become “ghost towns,” why not widen the existing Highway 52 or make a local detouring road around churches or other non-movable buildings?Widening Highway 52 near East Rowan and Erwin schools has been needed for at least 10 years.

The eastern route actually expands Rowan County. Ibelieve a new company would be more likely to locate near a major road away from a taxing small town rather than if the road were near a capital-draining small town. What is best for Rowan County are jobs for its citizens, not political decisions to make up for poor decisions of the past.

I realize each route has its sad stories —farms forever changed, homes destroyed or devalued, people and animals displaced. Even this would favor the eastern route, as more population is near the existing Highway 52. If public opinion were sought and citizens given the choice between the two routes, most Rowan Countians, most North Carolinians and most Americans would choose a road that costs less, affects less wetlands and displaces or destroys fewer families and homes. The key to this question is, “if given the choice.”

In summary, let’s not allow politics to control the direction of the bypass. The two towns’ position is self-serving and self-centered, as the busy Highway 52 already runs through the center of their towns and widening of this road could more than easily be accomplished and, if needed, a local detouring route.

Politics should not make up for poor planning and the towns’ inflexibility to widen existing roads. I think what best sums up Rockwell and Granite Quarry’s politics is this:None of these politicians had the courage to speak up at the well-attended public forums. But, in the middle of a Wednesday morning, when everyone else was working, they had their open meeting to cry on DOT’s shoulders.

Will the DOT favor a plan that makes more efficient use of taxpayer money, causes less disturbance of Rowan County’s environment, affects fewer people and is best for county growth? Or will it care more about the small-town politics of Rockwell and Granite Quarry?

Dr. Stephen Furr is a resident of eastern Rowan County.