Division of Highways

Asset Management

Recommends to the Board of Transportation the distribution of Maintenance and Resurfacing Funds across 14 Divisions and 100 counties. Manages and supports the following central units:

Bridge Management Unit: Responsible for the inspection, analysis, inventory, and administration of maintenance policies and procedures for all structures on the State Highway System.
Equipment and Inventory Control Unit: Supports NCDOT's equipment and material needs for the operation of the state's transportation system.
Pavement Management Unit: Provides adequate and economical designs for new pavements and rehabilitation designs. Maintains records of pavement history, service life, skid, profile, features and conditions of existing paved roadways.
Secondary Roads Unit: Maintains the inventory of secondary roads, as well as paved and unpaved roads, on the NCDOT system. Manages priority status for unpaved roads to be paved and responds to the public's inquiries regarding additions and deletions of roads to the state-maintained system.
State Road Maintenance Unit: Implements and manages programs for maintaining roads on the NCDOT system.

Operations

Field Support:

Field Support oversees the Construction Unit, Materials and Tests Unit, Roadside Environmental Unit, the Right of Way Branch and the 14 division offices across North Carolina.

Construction Unit: Provides oversight and administration to highway construction projects under private contract. This office ensures adequate staffing, monitors and evaluates contractual agreements, and works closely with the Federal Highway Administration.
Materials and Tests Unit: Responsible for determining the quality of materials and products incorporated into the Transportation System. The Unit manages the training and certification of technicans and approves products for use and provides expertise to field personnel.
Right of Way Branch: Responsible for acquisition of all necessary lands and rights of way used for construction and improvements of all roads and highways which are part of the State Highway System.
Roadside Environmental Unit: Provides roadside elements for a state highway system that is safe, environmentally sound, attractive and responsive to the public's needs. Programs of interest include NC Wildflower, NC Scenic Byways, Adopt-A-Highway, Wildlife Habitat and Rest Areas.
Utilities Section: The Utilities Section is responsible for developing utility engineering designs, performing engineering design reviews and coordinating with utility owners to facilitate utility movements necessary for the construction of NCDOT highway projects.

Division Offices

The Division of Highways is spread across the fourteen NCDOT transportation divisions. Click on a division to see more information.

Transportation Mobility and Safety

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Signals Unit: Plans, designs and implements traffic signals, signal systems and intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies statewide. The Traffic Electronics Center repairs signal, communications and ITS equipment.
Oversize/Overweight Permits Unit: Processes applications and issues permits for oversize/overweight vehicles. The Permit Unit also furnishes lists of restricted routes and permit information to the general public.
Signing and Delineation Unit: Responsible for the design and application of permanent signs, pavement marking, and other traffic control devices that delineate highways within the state’s transportation system.
Traffic Management Unit: Oversees Congestion Management, Municipal and School Transportation Assistance, and Work Zone Traffic Control.
Traffic Safety Unit: Implements and evaluates safety and traffic operational strategies to reduce crashes on North Carolina roadways. The Traffic Safety Unit includes the Traffic Safety Systems Section, the Mobility and Safety Field Operations Section, and the Mobility and Safety Information Section.
Traffic Systems Operations Unit: Uses signal system timing, incident management, intelligent transportation systems, and public information strategies to help our transportation roadway network move people and goods more safely and efficiently.

Preconstruction

Highway Design Branch: Comprised of five units: Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulics, Location and Surveys, Roadway Design and Structure Design. The primary responsibilities of the branch are to oversee all design aspects of highway design.
Project Development & Environmental Analysis: The Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch (PDEA) was formed in response to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which called for efforts to prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and the biosphere.
Transportation Planning Branch: Works with local entities across the state to develop plans for North Carolina’s transportation system.