A meeting was held on March 9, 2017, with the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Highway Division 2 to establish the scope and responsibilities of the proposed Bridges Street Improvement project and an official Notice to Proceed was received on May 8, 2017. The scope of the meeting included project development and preliminary design services, with the completion of a State Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact document.
Several initial project meetings were held in the summer 2017, and an external scoping meeting (a meeting that discusses any environmental impacts and cultural concerns) was held on Sept. 21, 2017. There has been extensive coordination with resource agencies, local jurisdictions, and community members throughout the project development process.
Based on input received, the project study area expanded several times to include additional alternatives. Overall, there have been three formal public meetings for the project (January 2018, July 2018, and March 2019), with numerous small group meetings.
Future work (work not covered by the existing scope and Notice to Proceed) on the subject project includes additional field investigations, environmental analysis, and design of multiple alternatives with the goal of documenting the Preferred Alternative in a State Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact.