ABERDEEN – Residents are invited to a meeting on Thursday to express their opinions on which proposed projects the N.C. Department of Transportation should build in its eight-county Division 8.
The department wants public feedback on which regional and division-level projects should become top priorities in the next cycle of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), a 10-year vision for funding and completing projects.
The plan is updated every two years, and the department is drafting the 2020-2029 STIP using a combination of data and local input. The department will use a formula established in the Strategic Transportation Investments law that focuses on prioritizing projects that will reduce congestion, improve safety and promote economic growth.
The department’s Division 8 (Chatham, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond and Scotland counties) will hold an informal public meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday in the division conference room at 902 North Sandhills Blvd. in Aberdeen.
Citizens are invited to stop in and provide input on how the division plans to rank its project priorities. Please note that these meetings are not for maintenance projects, such as patching potholes or resurfacing roads.
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
Starting today, the public may also provide input on this
NCDOT website, where there is a short, interactive survey to identify priority projects. The online survey features an
interactive state map with the proposed projects; citizens may review project information and provide feedback on which projects they think are important.
NCDOT is collecting feedback statewide through July 9.
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.
Once all project scores are finalized, the top-scoring 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.