RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Transportation wants disadvantaged businesses to compete for state transportation contracts.
This month, NCDOT’s Division of Highways in partnership with its Office of Civil Rights will host outreach events in all 14 highway divisions to educate disadvantaged business owners, or DBEs, about how to do business with the NCDOT. Disadvantaged business owners include small, minority-owned and woman-owned businesses.
“We hope these outreach meetings will serve as an important opportunity for many small, disadvantaged businesses to learn about how they can compete for state transportation contracts,” said State Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. “We saw a lot of interest from the business community when we hosted the first outreach events in June and we’re hoping to continue building on that momentum during this next round of events.”
In June, more than 180 people representing 160 firms participated in the first round of events.
During the outreach events, NCDOT staff will be on hand to explain how to do business with the agency, upcoming work opportunities in the area and how to apply for transportation contracts.
NCDOT awards contracts in many areas including mowing, litter pickup, landscaping, snow and ice removal, traffic control, painting, striping and road construction.
During the outreach events, highway division staff will discuss the types of contracts, advertisements for upcoming projects, and letting and award processes.
Due to increasing COVID-19 rates, four of the seven events will take place virtually and the three others in-person on Sept. 11 from 10 a.m.-noon. For the in-person events, NCDOT staff will adhere to all COVID safety protocols, including requiring people wear masks and observing social distancing. If you would like to attend or need more information, check out our web page devoted to the DBE initiative: www.ncdot.gov/highwaysdbe.
NCDOT will host outreach events at its seven other highway divisions on Sept. 25. Information about those meetings is being posted the same web page.
For more information, people can also watch a video about contract opportunities and what event attendees will learn by visiting https://youtu.be/fajlwy6HhdI.