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.
Pembroke Gateway
Come 2019, pedestrians and motorists will both benefit from improved safety,
traffic flow and connectivity once reconstruction of a main street through the
campus of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke is complete. The Pembroke
Gateway project is part of the department’s efforts to promote multimodal uses
of transportation across the state.
Currently, the one-mile stretch of road has five lanes, making it difficult
and unsafe for students to cross the road. Once finished, the road will be one
lane in each direction, becoming what is known as a complete street.
With this, motorists coming off side streets will turn right before using a
roundabout or making a U-turn to go the opposite direction. This reduces the
chance for crashes. Safety improvements such as sidewalks, crosswalks and
pedestrian signals will also be added.
Last week, state, local and university officials gathered together for a
groundbreaking ceremony to officially kick off this series of improvements.
“It’s a pleasure to be here representing the Department of Transportation
today and our part of this project,” said Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon.
“This $5 million project will transform the gateway to the University of North
Carolina at Pembroke.
Work on the project is underway and should be complete by the fall of next
year.
Data on the Fly
Recently, as part of the North Carolina Science Festival, NCDOT partnered
with SAS, an analytics software company, to host the data on the fly event at
the Division of Aviation’s hangar.
This hands-on opportunity provided 20 high school students experience in
building airplane monitoring systems using modern technology, including
single-board computers, iPads and special antennas.
The event is part of the department’s ongoing efforts to support educational
initiatives that provide students with valuable hands-on experience and further
transportation in North Carolina.