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.
National Drone Award
This week, at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's annual XPONENTIAL conference, the NCDOT Division of Aviation was awarded the XCELLENCE award in the humanitarian category for its groundbreaking use of drones during last year’s response to Hurricane Florence.
Out of more than 140 entries worldwide, the department’s drone program was chosen for using emerging drone technology to help keep people safe from a natural disaster in a way that had never been applied on that scale.
More than a dozen drone teams captured 8,000 pictures and videos of the damage and flooding left behind by Florence in September. This helped NCDOT and other state agencies plan detour routes, assess future repair needs and warn the public of the dangers faced on North Carolina's roadways.
Model Bridge State Final
For North Carolina to continue being a leader in finding innovative ways to keep people moving and safe, it’s essential to cultivate the minds of future engineers. One way the department does this is through the annual Model Bridge Building Competition.
Middle and high school students researched ideas before designing and building a model truss bridge. The competition teaches them about transportation design while challenging their science, technology, engineering and mathematics knowledge.
To view this year’s winners,
click here.
NC Moves 2050
Don’t forget that you can help shape North Carolina’s transportation future by
taking the short NC Moves 2050 survey.