The parkway - also known as the U.S. 321-74 Bypass in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties - would stretch from Interstate 485 near Charlotte-Douglass International Airport to Interstate 85 west of Gastonia.
Bob Spencer of Gastonia, a member of the Turnpike Authority board, estimated the cost of the parkway at around $400 million. He said no specific timetable has been set for building the project, if it gets final approval.
"Nobody wants it to start faster than me," Spencer said.
The other projects approved for further study are:
n The Cape Fear Skyway in Wilmington.
n The Monroe Connecter in Union County.
n The Triangle Parkway, which would run parallel to Interstate 40 in the Research Triangle area.
Currently, state law allows the Turnpike Authority to build only three toll projects. Yet it allows the authority to study an additional three. "Our interpretation is we can study six," Spencer said. "We can only build three."
However, Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, has introduced a bill that would double the number of toll projects that the Turnpike Authority can build from three to six.
If Hoyle's bill becomes law then all four projects approved for study on Wednesday, if they prove to be feasible, could be built.
"The demand is such that the legislation needs to be modified," Spencer said.
Spencer said that the four projects have received support within their communities, from elected officials and business leaders.
He said that none of the four projects have a significant leg up on the other projects.
While the Garden Parkway project may be further along in the environmental impact process, the Monroe Connecter is further along on getting other funding to supplement the building of the project, he said.
The Turnpike Authority also voted to request that the state Department of Transportation transfer supervision of the environmental impact process to the authority, a move that Spencer said would expedite the process.
The DOT has hundreds of such processes to supervise, Spencer said. The Turnpike Authority would have only four such projects to oversee.
During Wednesday's meeting, Tom Bradshaw of Citigroup, a former North Carolina transportation secretary, told the authority of funding strategies and options available for toll projects.
He said using other supplemental funding sources - such as federal dollars and tax increment financing - could help in building some toll projects.
Tax increment financing "perhaps could" fit in, Spencer said of the Garden Parkway project. He said that if the highway is built, a portion of the incremental taxes surrounding the property could help pay for building the road.
"It's another tool that could be utilized to build a project that the local community deems worthwhile," he said.
Barry Smith can be reached at bsmith@link.freedom.com.