SELMA – The N.C. Department of Transportation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday to celebrate the opening of the Eastern Regional Transportation Management Center.
The center, dubbed the Eastern TMC, enhances the department's ability to monitor traffic, coordinate incident response and communicate real-time roadway information across 39 counties from the Interstate 95 corridor to the coast.
The Eastern TMC features a wall of eight 55-inch monitors that display live video from highway cameras throughout the region. Staff monitor conditions, coordinate with field responders, update DriveNC.gov, and post alerts to dynamic message signs to keep motorists informed of crashes, closures and weather impacts.
“This center gives us greater capability to respond quickly to incidents across eastern North Carolina and to strengthen our partnerships with local and regional agencies to keep travelers safe," said Jeff Scott, the NCDOT engineer who manages the Eastern TMC.
Although the center in Selma began limited operations this spring, it is now fully staffed and operating two shifts on weekdays. The Statewide Transportation Operations Center (STOC) in Raleigh offers after-hours support for the eastern region of the state when the Eastern TMC is closed.
The Eastern TMC works closely with the N.C. State Highway Patrol, local law enforcement, fire departments, emergency management agencies and NCDOT maintenance crews to ensure coordinated responses to traffic incidents and special events.
The Eastern TMC also oversees NCDOT's Incident Management Assistance Patrol, or “IMAP" program, in eastern North Carolina. These Safety Service Patrol vehicles help stranded motorists, clear debris, and provide emergency traffic control to improve safety and reduce delays. The patrols covers I-95, I-40 and I-140 in Wilmington.
The Eastern TMC joins four other regional Transportation Management Centers across the state: the Triangle TMC co-located with the STOC in Raleigh; the Metrolina TMC in Charlotte, the Triad TMC in Greensboro, and the Mountain TMC in Asheville, which was the last to open in 2019 to serve Western North Carolina.