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Dozens of Washington residents gathered on Thursday night (May 29) to listen to a presentation from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and ask engineers questions about its widening plan for 15th Street. 

Held at Beaufort County Community College, the presentation lasted about 30 minutes then it was followed by questions from residents. Afterward, residents could review maps of 15th Street with NCDOT engineers. 

The night came together at the request of North Carolina House Representative Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort, Dare, Hyde Pamlico).

“It was a sense that I got that several people came to me and there was information out there that wasn’t accurate, was overstated, was misstated. There were questions about what property’s going to be taken. People were told that we’re going to lose this piece of their property  and might not be able to do business. I knew that wasn’t possible, because the plan wasn’t set yet, Kidwell said, “so that’s why I said, ‘you know what? Let’s get the players to come out and answer the actual questions.’” 

Kidwell, after receiving numerous questions from Washington residents, called NCDOT to schedule an opportunity for citizens to speak directly with NCDOT engineers who redesigned 15th Street. 

During the question and answer session, a resident asked NCDOT how it calculated traffic forecasts for Washington. According to NCDOT’s traffic forecasts for Washington, by 2050 more than 25,000 vehicles will travel on 15th Street. This data confused some residents, because they have reviewed separate data that shows Washington’s population in decline. 

HNTB Roadway Engineer Traffic Lead, Andrew Bell, said traffic models included local information and recent growth in Washington like a new housing development coming to North Market Street. HNTB is an engineering consulting firm based in Raleigh. 

Washington resident Nick Fritz asked NCDOT representatives how the department considers public opposition to one of its proposed projects. Earlier this year, 15th Street Coalition formed to express concerns about NCDOT’s design for 15th Street and to promote a 2021 design from Stantec. The coalition has collected more than 500 signatures on a petition opposing NCDOT’s design. 

Allison Thornburn, a project engineer for NCDOT’s Division of Highway Division Two, said, “We all travel 15th Street, we all live in and around it. I think every bit of anyone who has signed that petition knows that there’s something wrong with 15th Street. I think that’s something that we all agree on. I think the data speaks to that. The fatalities definitely speak to that. So something needs to be done and this is the solution.” 

NCDOT representatives explained on Thursday that the Stantec design was reviewed by their project engineers and by a third party. NCDOT rejected the design, because it “did not fully meet the project’s purpose and need to improve mobility and safety, as it failed to accommodate the Average Annual Daily Traffic anticipated in 2050 (the project’s design year). The Stantec design was analyzed using existing and projected traffic and was proven to create substantial delays and queueing within the project limits.” 

Residents also asked if NCDOT would consider building a bypass as opposed to redesigning 15th Street. NCDOT engineers explained that a bypass has been studied by the department; however, it would cost an estimated $600 million whereas the 15th Street widening project is estimated to cost $38.6 million. NCDOT is fully funding the widening project.