RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Transportation honored communities this week that developed some of the state’s best multimodal projects.
The NCDOT Mobi Awards, which started in 2019, recognizes transportation projects that improve the economy and enhance the quality of life in North Carolina communities. Projects had to combine the use of at least two transportation modes such as aviation, bicycle, pedestrian, ferry, public transportation, rail and roadway. More than 30 projects competed in this year’s NCDOT Mobi Awards.
“Multimodal projects are an important piece of our transportation present and future,” said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. “We hope that the Mobi Awards will inspire more communities to think creatively about the next great project in transportation.”
After hosting the 2020 Awards ceremony virtually, this year’s awards were held in person during a luncheon event at the Raleigh Marriott City Center. NCDOT’s Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation Julie White presented the awards.
“These projects we honored today connect people to opportunity, to jobs, to healthcare and education,” White said. “They make our state more equitable and reduce our carbon footprint. In short, they make our state more accessible, attractive and competitive.”
Judges selected winners and honorable mentions from the following categories: Rural, Urban, Small Urban, Large Urban and Innovation. There was also a sixth category, Most Voted Project. For the MVP category, all this year’s entries were placed online so the public could vote for the winner. The projects with the most votes won.
The 2022 NCDOT Mobi Book, which has detailed descriptions and pictures of all this year’s entries, can be found online.
The following are this year’s winners and honorable mentions:
Rural
Winner: City of Creedmoor Cross City Trail. The project was nominated by the city of Creedmoor. The Cross City Trail completes a four-phase, greenway throughout Creedmoor. It opened in September 2020 and provides a separate, ADA-accessible, bicycle and pedestrian path that connects Lake Rogers Park to downtown Creedmoor and new housing subdivisions along N.C. 56. Watch our video on this year’s Rural category winner. Check out the winner’s reaction.
This year’s projects receiving honorable mention were the East Fork Pedestrian Bridge and Sidewalk, which was nominated by the town of Jamestown, and the Dillsboro Bridge, which was nominated by the Southwestern Rural Planning Organization.
Large Urban
Winner: CityLYNX Goldline Streetcar Project, which was nominated by the Charlotte Area Transit Agency. Phase 2 of Charlotte’s CityLYNX Gold Line Streetcar Project is a 4-mile dual track streetcar system using new hybrid technology streetcars. The project, which was completed in August 2021, includes 17 stops with public art integrated into the shelters and new streetcar vehicles. Watch our video on this year’s Large Urban category winner. Please take a look at the winner’s reaction.
Honorable Mentions were the Fayetteville Greenway Network, which was nominated by the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Hector H. Henry Greenway – Riverwalk, which was nominated by the city of Concord.
Urban
Winner: CCX - The Carolina Connector. The project was nominated by the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Carolinas Gateway Partnership, CSX, and the N.C. Department of Transportation partnered to construct a state-of-the-art, 300-acre intermodal facility near Rocky Mount. The facility, which opened for business in November 2021, allows trucks to bring cargo containers to a rail yard, where they are transferred to trains for transport. Watch our video on this year’s Urban category winner. See the winner’s reaction.
Projects that received honorable mentions were the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, which was nominated by the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, and the Franklin Street Temporary Lane Reallocation, which was nominated by the Town of Chapel Hill.
Small Urban
Winner: Old Fayetteville Road Multiuse Path. The project was nominated by Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Old Fayetteville Road MUP is a one-mile multi-use path that provides bicycle and pedestrian access to educational, recreational and civic destinations along Old Fayetteville Road in Leland. Watch our video on this year’s Small Urban category winner and see their reaction when they learned they won.
Projects that received honorable mentions were the Runway 6 Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System, which was nominated by the Davidson County Airport, and the Old Cullowhee Bridge, which was nominated by Jackson County.
Innovation
Winner: CityLYNX Gold Line Streetcar Project, which was nominated by the Charlotte Area Transit Agency. This same project won the Large Urban category, so the video is the same for the Innovation winner. You can check out the winner’s reaction here.
The projects receiving honorable mentions were the Fayetteville Greenway Network, which was nominated by the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, which was nominated by Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.
Most Voted Project
The winner is the Runway 6 Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System, which was nominated by the Davidson County Airport. This project included the installation of a special lighting system at the end of Runway 6 at the Davidson County Airport in Lexington. The lighting system was installed in July 2021. It provides pilots with enhanced visual guidance for landing aircraft in poor visibility conditions. Watch our video on this years Most Voted Project winner. Watch the winner’s reaction.
The judges chose the winners and honorable mentions based on the degree to which the project spurred public or private investment, boosted economic development, created long-term job growth, improved health, enhanced the community or had other significant positive impacts.
Reactions from this year’s Mobi Award winners can be found here. Also, to view photos from this year’s awards ceremony visit our website.
For more information on this year’s NCDOT Mobi Awards, please visit our website. Go here to view today’s Mobi Awards ceremony.