Former Wayne commissioners honored for transportation work
By Staff Reports
Published in News on December 14, 2008 2:00 AM
Former Wayne County commissioners Atlas Price Jr. of Seven Springs and Efton Sager of Goldsboro were honored recently during the 2008 Eastern Carolina Council awards banquet in New Bern.
Price received the Transportation Leadership Award and Sager was recognized for his service on the council as president.
Price did not seek re-election to his at-large seat on the local board, and Sager was successful in his bid for the District 11 state House seat.
Price supported a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the U.S. Highway 70 Corridor Commission to fund a feasibility study for access management and long-term improvements along the U.S. 70 corridor in James City and Kinston.
In June 1999, he invited Wayne County municipal officials, legislators, North Carolina Board of Transportation members, Chamber of Commerce officials and persons interested in transportation in Wayne County to the first meeting of the Wayne County Transportation Committee.
His goal was to establish an organization in Wayne County to develop expertise on roads, bridges and road needs in the county.
Price believed requests made to the North Carolina Department of Transport-ation would be more effective by organizing the private citizens, the municipalities and the leaders of Wayne County into one unified voice for a successful transportation effort. He served as chairman of the Wayne County Transportation Committee for the remainder of his term on the Board of Commissioners.
In 2002, Price brought together Duplin, Greene, Lenoir and Wayne county officials and North Carolina Department of Transport-ation officials to discuss joining together to promote the development of transportation systems embracing various modes to transportation in a manner to serve all areas of the state efficiently and effectively.
These local governments and the Eastern Carolina Council established a continuing, comprehensive, cooperative transportation planning process with the establishment of the Eastern Carolina Rural Transportation Plan-ning Organization.
He served as the chairman of the Transportation Advisory Committee, which is the policy maing body of the RPO. He also served on the Rail Subcommittee of the Eastern Carolina RPO.
In 2005, he saw the need to partner with local regional and state government agencies to effectively support initiatives enhancing safety, mobility and economic vitality along the U.S. 70 corridor through land use planning, transportation improvements and economic development strategies. He worked with leaders from Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Jones, Craven and Carteret counties and the North Carolina Board of Transportation to form the Highway 70 Corridor Commission.
He served as a Wayne county representative on the Highway 70 Corridor Commission from its inception until the remainder of his term on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.