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.
Monroe Expressway Opening
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority has opened the all-electronic Monroe Expressway, the second in a network of toll projects being introduced across the state. Local leaders, stakeholders and members of the community gathered this week to cut the ribbon on the highly anticipated roadway project.
The Monroe Expressway is an 18-mile bypass that stretches between east of I-485 and the U.S. 74 interchange in Matthews and just west of Marshville. It’s estimated that drivers will be able to save 20 minutes by using the expressway.
“It’s an exciting day for transportation as we open the long-awaited Monroe Expressway,” said Beau Memory, executive director of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. “It’s wonderful to have so many members of the community here to open it with us.”
All-electronic tolling provides seamless travel without having to slow down or stop to pay tolls. Customers can drive through the all-electronic toll system and receive a bill in the mail after cameras, attached to tolling gantries, capture a photo of the vehicle’s license plate.
Drivers can also sign up for a free NC Quick Pass transponder and save up to 35 percent off the Bill-by-Mail rate. For drivers with an NC Quick Pass transponder, it will cost about two and a half dollars to travel the full length of the expressway.
Tolls collected will go to operating, maintaining and paying off the project.
Bicycle Helmet Initiative Applications
NCDOT’s top priority is always safety, so to promote more bicycle helmet usage the department’s Bicycle Helmet Initiative is providing helmets to children from underprivileged families.
Less than half of all children wear helmets when bicycling, yet studies show that if they did wear them, severe brain injuries could be reduced by nearly 90 percent.
The department is currently accepting applications for the Bicycle Helmet Initiative from government and non-government agencies until Dec. 21. The program is funded through sales of the share the road specialty license plates and has provided thousands of helmets to children since 2007.
Click here to access the application.
Aviation Art Contest
Students can submit their entries for the 2019 Aviation Art Contest. This year’s theme is My Dream to Fly. Awards will be given in junior, intermediate and senior divisions and those winners will advance to the national competition.
Get more information by
visiting the Division of Aviation’s website.