Smith: Perdue roads plan sounds familiar

Fred Smith says he's glad Beverly Perdue has a roads plan similar to his.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate has long called for a $4 billion bond to build roads and repair bridges across the state to be paid in part by ending the Highway Trust Fund transfer.

On Thursday, Perdue called for a $1 billion road bond to be paid for in part by ending the transfer.

"I'm glad that she's finally seen what I've been calling for for months," he said.

Smith said he would pay for his more expensive plan by moving the state Highway Patrol and driver's education programs from the trust fund to the general fund. He said those programs could be paid for by cutting "pork-barrel spending" in the budget.

During his motorhome tour of all 100 counties, Smith said he'd seen a lof of the state's most congested roads firsthand, including Interstate 40 near Raleigh, I-77 and I-485 in Charlotte and I-26 from Hendersonville to Asheville.

"If we don't build roads, we're all going to be in a parking lot," he said.

As the chief executive officer of road-paving company C.C. Mangum, Smith also said he would forbid his company from seeking any contracts if he was elected, relying entirely on private work instead.

"It's going to cost me a lot of money, but that's OK," he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Smith's position.