Budget management measures, a funding infusion and an absence of severe weather events so far this winter have helped the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation stabilize its hurricane-pummeled finances, allowing preliminary engineering work to resume on hundreds of road and bridge projects stalled since last fall.

Cleanup and repair work following Hurricane Florence and other major 2018 weather-related events totaled more than $300 million, according to the agency, yet federal reimbursement for eligible costs has been slow in coming.

With its budget further strained by rising material prices and millions of dollars diverted to settle lawsuits stemming from a 30-year old land ownership law, NCDOT put the brakes on approximately 900 state-funded projects last August—just weeks before Hurricane Dorian raked the state’s Outer Banks, severely damaging portions of the barrier islands’ only major roadway and adding another $13 million of recovery costs.

现在,NCDOT在11月的一般基金和债券支持的资金中获得了2亿美元的支持,NCDOT逐渐“将这些被暂停的项目恢复原状,”运输副部长Greer Beatty说。新利18备用网址

该机构已经授权初步工程工作恢复200多个项目。新利18备用网址在接下来的四个月中,类似的数字可能恢复正轨。

“We want to keep projects in our five-year plan as close to schedule as possible,” Beatty says, adding that agency hiring and travel restrictions remain in place.

Monty Irvin, President and CEO of Ramey Kemp & Associates, Raleigh, and a past president of ACEC North Carolina says that while the suspended projects forced many of the state’s consulting engineering firms to cut staff, NCDOT should be credited for keeping the industry in the loop as its navigated the financial issues.

While only half of his firm’s preliminary engineering projects have been restored, “we at least know what to expect and can plan accordingly," he said.

尽管如此,欧文仍然担心该行业可能需要很长时间才能完全反弹。他说:“还没有结束。”

With another hurricane season just months away, NCDOT has established a new emergency reserve fund to use in disaster-hit areas of the state covered by presidential disaster declarations.

Beatty补充说,该机构已将对未来事件的韧性纳入其重建策略。她说:“为不可预见的计划计划是非常具有挑战性的,但是我们正在竭尽所能使自己做好准备。”