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.
Dorian Recovery
In the wake of Hurricane Dorian, the N.C. Department of Transportation is putting its efforts into making repairs to reopen state roads quickly.
About a dozen roads are still closed, including N.C. 12 in Ocracoke where more than 1,000 feet of major dunes and pavement will need to be replaced.
The damage from Dorian is estimated to be about $45 million and repairs are expected to be complete by the end of the year.
Florence Anniversary
While repairs from Dorian are just beginning, repairs from Hurricane Florence continue.
This week marks one year since Florence hit our state. At the height of the storm, there were more than 2,500 road closures statewide, including Interstates 40 and 95.
U.S. 421 Announcement
Florence caused the state’s largest washout on U.S. 421 at the New Hanover / Pender county line.
The culvert at Fishing Creek could not withstand the floodwaters. It was destroyed, along with several hundred feet of the highway.
Since then, crews constructed a temporary bridge that opened to traffic in October of last year.
Instead of just replacing the culvert, NCDOT engineers chose to design for better resiliency: two bridges, both two lanes at 562 feet long. This will allow more water to flow through.
The first bridge is nearly complete, and the other is expected to open next year.
For more information about NCDOT Now, contact the NCDOT Communications Office at (919) 707-2660. Additional news stories from throughout the week can be found on
NCDOT.gov.