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CHARLOTTE – Local transportation leaders are having to prioritize and delay other local road projects to cover the cost of the final leg of Interstate 485. Gov. Perdue promised in February that work on the six-mile stretch remaining would start in 2009 and be finished by 2012 or 2013.

Despite that, state transportation leaders announced in May that there was no new revenue available, so funding must be found somewhere else. That has some drivers divided on if they rather see the portion of I-485 finished in northern Mecklenburg County, a section of Independence Boulevard widened in Charlotte, or the construction of the Monroe Bypass in Union County.

Making a decision like that is the challenge for regional planning group Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization. Wednesday, they’ll consider shifting local priorities to pay for the final leg of I-485. A transportation study released on Monday used 11 criteria to compare the three projects.

Independence Blvd. scored highest, with the Monroe Bypass coming in second and I-485 third.

• The widening of Independence Blvd. received high marks on “Improves Safety,” “Accesses Transit Parking of Drop Off” and “Increases Access to a Center City.”

• The Monroe Bypass did well with “Supports Land Use Planning Objectives” and “Benefit and Cost,” but not as well with “Accesses Transit Parking or Drop Off.”

• The I-485 completion did well on “Increases Access to Other Employment Centers,” but received lower marks on “Improves Safety” and “Benefit and Cost.”

All three projects rated high in “Reducing Traffic Congestion.”

“As long as it's taken to get [I-485] on track, I think they could do a lot better use of their money fixing Independence,” said one driver, Dennis Benning of Charlotte.

State transportation leaders hope to have a consensus on how to pay for the final leg of I-485 before securing a funding plan by this fall. The whole completion project is expected to cost more than $200 million.