RALEIGH – The following are highlights from this week at the N.C. Department of Transportation. The stories below are also featured in
NCDOT Now, the department’s weekly newscast.
Hurricane Road Repairs
As towns and cities in southeastern North Carolina work to get back on their feet after Hurricane Florence, the department is pushing to make repairs as quickly as possible.
At the height of the storm there were more than 1,600 sections of closed roads and bridges across the state. Thanks to dedicated crews, there are now less than 100. Of those, 12 primary routes will require longer repairs and the rest are secondary roads.
U.S. 421 in New Hanover County will require the most work after it was washed out in both directions by the hurricane. The initial plan is to open it in a two-lane, two-way temporary traffic pattern while more extensive repairs are underway.
Understanding the urgent need for drivers to be able to get where they need to go, the department is working diligently to have all road closures back open by the end of the year, with the exception of a few locations where bridges have to be built.
Motorists can check to see if specific routes have reopened by visiting
DriveNC.gov.
Powell Bill Improvements
The department is distributing more than $147 million in state street aid to local municipalities, also known as the
Powell Bill.
This year, the program is helping more than 500 local governments with improvements or repairs to roads they maintain, along with construction or maintenance of bridges, drainage, curbs and gutters.
Seventy-five percent of the funding is determined by population, while 25 percent is based on the number of locally maintained street miles.
Hurricane Florence Donations
Fellow North Carolinians who are recovering after Hurricane Florence still need help as cleanup continues. Donations can be safely made at
Governor Cooper’s website.