North Carolina's new transportation secretary says he wants to put more emphasis on job creation in determining which road and other infrastructure projects will be funded with the state's limited construction dollars.
Tony Tata is a former Army general and Wake County schools superintendent asked by Gov. Pat McCrory to manage the Department of Transportation, which spends about $5 billion in state and federal funds annually.
Tata said in an interview with The Associated Press he'd like to see a larger portion of DOT's formula for evaluating construction projects dedicated to the number of direct and indirect jobs they can create. He said economic benefits are going to play a large role in creating a 25-year infrastructure plan that McCrory has asked him to spearhead.
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