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.
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Outreach
NCDOT continues to host outreach events for small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses. The quarterly events for disadvantaged business enterprises ensure these businesses are aware of how to compete for state transportation contracting opportunities.
Contracts are available in many areas, including construction and maintenance, mowing, litter pickup, tree cutting, emergency work, and snow and ice removal.
Division 3 Assistant Construction Engineer Trevor Carroll said “we need more partners to help us to maintain, to grow and to expand our infrastructure. Having those contractors come in and help us, helps our system overall.”
“We want to make sure that the playing field is fair for everyone, so that’s why it is really important that if you’re interested in being a subcontractor or a prime or you’re already one and not certified – it’s important that you come to the outreaches,” Peggie Simpson with NCDOT’s Office of Civil Rights added.
“I think it’s important for networking, getting together with other contractors and seeing what we can do together,” said Mary Heath, who attended the Wilmington-area meeting.
NCDOT recently held outreach meetings in half of its divisions and is hosting meetings across the rest of the state on Feb. 19. For more information, visit NCDOT’s DBE outreach website.
N.C. By Train Offers Valentine’s Day Special
Skip the chocolates and roses this Valentine’s Day while N.C. By Train offers a deal of a buy one, get one free deal on tickets. The sale is running Feb. 9-16, and tickets are valid for travel from March 1 to Aug. 31. To buy tickets, visit ncbytrain.org.
Honorary Signs Placed for UNC Coaches
Last weekend, UNC-Chapel Hill recognized two of its former basketball coaches after two sections of Interstate 40 were named in their honor.
NCDOT placed honorary signs designating the stretch between mile marker 270 and 273 as Dean Smith Highway and between mile markers 266 and 270 as Roy Williams Highway.
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.