NCDOT is advising motorists traveling on U.S. 17 in Jones County of a Road Closure/Detour beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday July 13, which is expected to last through 11 p.m. on July 15. This detour is part of the U.S. 17 Bypass project, and the impact on through traffic is expected to be high. Motorists travelling North on U.S. 17 will be routed onto the detour in Maysville using White Oak River Road, to Pole Pocossin Road, to Lee’s Chapel Road, and back onto U.S. 17 in Pollocksville. Motorists travelling South on U.S. 17, will be routed onto the detour at Lee’s Chapel RoadRead More →

Two environmental groups have agreed to drop their opposition to construction of a U.S. 70 bypass around Havelock in exchange for several steps by the N.C. Department of Transportation to protect rare longleaf pine habitat along the highway’s path, the News & Observer of Raleigh reported today. In an agreement announced Monday and reported in the News & Observer, NCDOT will give a conservation easement to protect land it will own along the 10.3-mile bypass, as well as provide $5.3 million to the N.C. Coastal Land Trust to create a fund to protect land in and around the Croatan National Forest. NCDOT also will establish a $2 millionRead More →

Two gateways into downtown New Bern are going to look a lot different within the next year or so. First Street, which is also N.C. 55, is going to be reconfigured from four lanes (two in each direction) to two traffic lanes and a center turn lane. Sidewalks will be added as well as bike lanes on both sides of the street. City aldermen approved the plan at their meeting on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, a traffic circle is proposed to replace the Y-intersection at Neuse and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards. That project could begin in October. Both plans have controversial predecessors on BroadRead More →