This Week at NCDOT: Vaccine Delivery by Drone and Labor Day Travel

​RALEIGH – The following are highlights from this week at t​he N.C. Department of Transportation. The stories below are also featured in NCDOT Now, the department's weekly newscast.

COVID-19 Vaccines Delivered by Drone

Last week, NCDOT and its partners, Atrium Health Wake Forest and UPS Flight Forward, achieved another major milestone in the development of drone technology by completing the first ever drone delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.

The short flight took the drone from one portion of the hospital to another. 

"The launch of this delivery service is going to help bring vaccine access to more North Carolinians," said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. "We're entering a new era, where distance and isolation will soon no longer be barriers to receive potential life saving healthcare." 

As part of NCDOT’s participation in the Federal Aviation Administration’s BEYOND program, this operation joins a long list of important drone firsts in North Carolina, including the first for-profit regular drone delivery airlines and the first public air taxi demonstration in North America.  

For more information about NCDOT’s drone programs or its Aviation Division, visit ncdot.gov/aviation. 

Labor Day Travel

Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, and many across North Carolina will be traveling for their final vacation of the season. 

To help ease travel over the holiday weekend, NCDOT is suspending most construction projects along interstates and U.S. routes starting today and running through Sept. 7th.  

Drivers should be aware they may still encounter closed or narrowed lanes and lane shifts where the type of work doesn’t allow for normal traffic patterns. In addition, work zone speed limits will still be enforced, even if crews are not working. 

Also, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program launched the Labor Day Booze It & Lose It campaign at Winston-Salem State University last week. This weekend, law enforcement officers across the state will be increasing patrols to help prevent drunk driving. 

For up-to-date information on road conditions, visit DriveNC.gov.

 

​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.