The N.C. Department of Transportation's long-range transportation plan – called the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) – identifies the construction funding and schedule for state transportation projects over a 10-year period. NCDOT updates the STIP approximately every two years.
The Strategic Transportation Investments law mandates ongoing evaluation and improvement to ensure that the process responds to North Carolina's diverse needs. This is accomplished by a prioritization work group consisting primarily of professional engineers and transportation planners.
The data-driven process to update the STIP is called
Strategic Prioritization. The current cycle to update the STIP for the years 2028-2037 is called Prioritization 8.0 or P8.0. It started in summer 2025 when NCDOT divisions and local planning organizations gather initial public input on projects, which were then be submitted for evaluation and scoring.
Public Input
The N.C. Department of Transportation is taking comments from the public July 28-Aug. 29 on what projects they would like to see in the 2028-2037 transportation plan.
Learn More
Development Timeline
| Milestone | Dates* |
|---|
Project submittal window
| Summer 2025
|
Public comment on project submittal begins
| Summer 2025
|
Data scores and Statewide Mobility funded project list released
| Spring 2026
|
Public comment period on Regional Impact projects & release of Regional Impact funded project list
| Summer 2026
|
Public comment on Division Needs projects
|
Fall/Winter 2026
|
2028-2037 Draft STIP released
| Early 2027
|
2028-2037 Draft STIP comment period
| Late winter 2027/Early spring 2027
|
2028-2037 STIP adoption by N.C. Board of Transportation
| Summer 2027
|
Federal Highway Administration approval of 2026-2035 STIP
| Fall 2027
|
*Future dates are preliminary and subject to change