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.
THE CHEMISTRY OF CONCRETE
Chip Lichtenwalner is a chemist for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
While he works in this lab – testing a variety of materials and their quality for the state, federal partners are testing too.
"They'll test the cement or the aggregate but that doesn't really tell you what is going to happen when you put it in a real concrete mix in the field."
The wrong mixture of concrete and cracks and potholes form, and those issues could get bigger. Two years ago, Lichtenwalner had a lightbulb moment.
"I had the idea to just try some concrete, little batches of concrete, and see what happens and then when I saw the results I was pretty impressed that I could actually detect it."
The test worked.
"It's the first-time concrete has been tested chemically for expansion."
While still a work in progress - Lichtenwalner is looking ahead at what this can mean for the department and those traveling across North Carolina.
"In the future we can use the chemical test and be able to test actual mixtures in the field to make sure our concrete is good."
NCDOT anticipates working with university research partners for another couple of years and implementing this testing with hopes of providing a better project and less maintenance to the more than 81 thousand miles of roadway in our state.
AVIATION ART CONTEST
The Division of Aviation just announced the winners of the 2025 North Carolina Aviation Art Contest!
The contest encourages students to get creative and learn about aviation. This year's theme...."Women With Wings"...celebrates the amazing contributions women have made to aviation.
Over 1,000 students participated, showcasing everything from historical depictions to imaginative portrayals of women in aviation.
The top artists from each category will move on to compete in the National Aviation Art Contest in Washington, D.C. And those winners will be entered into the international art competition! If you want to check out the winning artwork, you can find it on the
NCDOT Flickr site.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, March 9, at 2:00 a.m.
That means you need to set your clocks forward by one hour. We’ll see longer daylight hours in the evening but a darker start to the morning. So be aware of that when you’re driving in the mornings. Use your headlights. Never follow too closely. And please slow down.
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.