RALEIGH – North Carolina transportation officials have announced that 144 new transportation projects are included in an updated version of the state’s draft 10-year transportation plan. In addition, the construction schedules were accelerated for hundreds of other projects.

Division 1, which consists of Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington counties, will see a number of improvements as a result of the update.

New projects include:

Upgrade U.S. 17 to interstate standards from U.S. 17/158 north of Elizabeth City to the Virginia state line; and

A new sound-class ferry to replace the M/V Silver Lake which serves the Ocracoke-Cedar Island and Ocracoke-Swan Quarter routes.

The following projects have been accelerated:

Safety improvements for U.S. 158 in Gates County from Acorn Hill Road to the Pasquotank County line will begin in 2023 instead of 2025; and

Safety and modernization improvements for U.S. 17 in Pasquotank County from Church Street to U.S. 17 Business will begin in 2023 instead of 2025.

In total, Division 1 is slated to receive one additional bicycle and pedestrian project as well as three aviation, two highway, one ferry and one transit project.

“The projects included in this update are exactly the types of projects that the people of northeastern North Carolina need to improve access to jobs and educational opportunities,” said Division 1 Board of Transportation representative Allen Moran.

The adjustments reflect updated financial information, including projected revenues, and lower inflation and construction cost overruns.

The plan, called the Draft 2018-2027 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), was initially scheduled to be approved by the Board of Transportation at its June meeting, but approval was delayed to allow the department to update the document to reflect the changes.

The final 2018-2027 STIP is expected to be approved by the Board in August.

Also on the long-range STIP is a project to widen US 13/NC 11 to multi lanes from the southern end of the existing four-lane on US 13 near Winton to just south of the NC 561/NC 11 crossing near the Ahoskie Inn.

Other local projects include:

Widening Memorial Drive, to multi lanes, in Ahoskie from Peachtree Street to NC 42;

Improvements to NC 45, beginning at the Hertford County line, through Colerain and Midway, to the Washington County line;

From the NC 46 interchange at I 95 near Garysburg to SR 1333 (Mt. Carmel Church Road) east of Jackson, widen US 158 to multi lanes, some on a new location, to include a bypass of Jackson;

Improve US 258 from Rich Square south to Scotland Neck; and

Improve NC 305 from Seaboard to the Hertford County line.

More information about the STIP and how transportation projects are funded is available at ncdot.gov/strategictransportationinvestments/.