ASHEVILLE – North Carolinians are invited to a public meeting June
14 to express their opinions about which regional and local transportation
projects in the 7-county Division 13 area should be top priorities in the State
Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) – a 10-year plan that identifies
funding for projects and schedules them for construction.
The N.C. Department of Transportation combines data and local input
to determine which projects will get built, using criteria established in the
Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) law to focus funding on projects that
help reduce congestion, improve safety and promote economic growth.
NCDOT Division 13 (Buncombe, Burke, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell,
Rutherford and Yancey counties) will hold an informal public meeting from 5-7
p.m., on Thursday, June 14, at Lake Tomahawk Park, Lakeview Clubhouse, 401
Laurel Circle Drive, Black Mountain, N.C., 28711.
Citizens are invited to stop in and provide input a preliminary
list of regional projects supported by the division to be considered for
funding. Please note that these meetings are not for maintenance projects, such
as patching potholes, resurfacing roads or improving ditches.
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans
with Disabilities Act for anyone with disabilities who wants to participate in
the public meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Lauren
Putnam, Public Involvement Officer, at 919-707-6072 or by email at
lnputnam1@ncdot.gov as early as possible, so that these arrangements can be
made.
Other Ways to Participate
During a public comment period that runs from June 4 through July
9, NCDOT is collecting feedback from citizens who express their views at public
meetings across the state, online, by phone or in writing.
Starting June 4, citizens can provide input through the STI website
(ncdot.gov/sti). Citizens can complete a short, interactive survey to identify
priority projects, or send a message to their local division planning
engineer.
The online survey features an interactive state map with the
proposed projects up for funding. Citizens can review project information and
provide feedback on which projects they think are important.
The STI website provides the phone numbers and postal addresses of
local division planning engineers, for citizens who want to comment on
transportation projects by telephone or mail.
In Division 13, contact Brendan Merithew, PE, at
bwmerithew@ncdot.gov, (828) 251-6171 or by mail at: 55 Orange Street, Asheville
N.C., 28801.
In April, NCDOT released data scores for more than 2,100
transportation improvement projects across the state, in the first round of an
evaluation process to determine which projects will be scheduled for
construction. Also in April, NCDOT identified 77 high-scoring Statewide
Mobility projects that will be programmed for funding over the next decade.
Next Steps
After the comment period ends on July 9, NCDOT will combine the
data scores and local input to produce the total project scores. A draft list of
the top-scoring Regional Impact projects is scheduled for release in August. A
similar process for local input will take place in the fall for local Division
Needs projects.
Once all project scores are finalized, the top projects will be
programmed for construction based on available funding. Other factors may
determine whether a project ultimately moves to construction, including the
completion of environmental and engineering plans, corridor spending limits
prescribed by law, and other federal and state funding restrictions.
This information will be used to create the next STIP for the years
2020-2029. NCDOT will release a draft STIP for public comment in January 2019.
The final 2020-2029 STIP is expected to be adopted by the N.C. Board of
Transportation in June 2019.
The STI law, enacted in 2013, established a data-driven process
that allows NCDOT to invest transportation dollars more efficiently and
effectively. NCDOT updates the STIP approximately every two years to ensure
that it accurately reflects the state's current financial situation.