03/29/2024
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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.

Hampstead Bypass Groundbreaking

North Carolina Department of Transportation executive staff and elected officials came together March 11 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Hampstead Bypass. 

The nearly 13-mile bypass, located on the U.S. 17 corridor in Pender County near Wilmington, will improve traffic flow and safety within the region. 

Among those who participated in the ceremony were Secretary of Transportation Eric Boyette, Beau Memory, NCDOT’s chief operating officer, and Pender County’s commissioners and sheriff. 

The groundbreaking kicked off the first segment of the planned improvements for the Hampstead Bypass. The first segment is expected to be completed in 2026, and the entire bypass will be complete by 2030. 

For more information, visit the Hampstead Bypass project page

Concrete Sealant Grant

Professors from N.C. State University and East Carolina University have been awarded a two-year grant by NCDOT to study the effects of commercial concrete sealants on cracks in roads, bridges, tunnels and more. 

Cracks in transportation infrastructure pose a risk to longevity, as moisture from rain and ice can widen those cracks, making the road unsafe. 

However, no two cracks are alike, and this $250,000 grant will help researchers determine the best sealant for each fault. The study will get underway this summer. 

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