Tagged: NC DOT

The state Department of Transportation is continuing to seek input on the best way to pay for improvements to the I-95 corridor.  NC DOT officials released a study last week saying that among several scenarios, mitigated tolls would provide the best economic benefit. 

Out-of-state residents and businesses would pay more under a mitigated toll system.  It would raise more than five billion dollars per year through 2050 to upgrade I-95.  Improvements include road widening, re-paving and bridge replacements. 

The state DOT says Hatteras Inlet remains impassible in some areas as ferries prepare to switch to a busier summer schedule. 

A series of storms clogged the channel between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands this winter, forcing crews to clear a longer detour.  A dredge has been clearing the original route, but officials say a boat bottomed out during a trial run last week.

"It's hard to say what's causing the changes there," says Jed Dixon, deputy director of the NC Ferry Division.

Governor Pat McCrory wants a new method of funding transportation projects in order to spur economic growth.  He says the way the state has approached transportation projects has not favored areas that need an economic boost.

"We have struggled to keep pace with the needs of our growing areas and to bring jobs to our most economic-challenges areas of this state.  So right now it's time to think differently," McCrory says.