Public

North Carolina DOT’s public hearings this week gave residents on both sides of the Cape Fear River an opportunity to weigh in on a proposed replacement of the bridge connecting Brunswick County and Wilmington.

According to WECT, nearly everyone who spoke up at Tuesday’s meeting in Leland echoed the positions of speakers the night before in Wilmington. Most opposed both alternatives under consideration: a shorter movable span, or a 135-foot fixed span. All of them opposed the premise of tolling.

“‘They should build a bridge like they build a bridge anywhere else,’” one resident said. “‘It should be free for us because we pay taxes. We pay our license and registration, and they build bridges other places. They should build a bridge here — it’s needed.’”

In addition to concerns about the financial burden of tolling, WWAY reports, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo challenged that current river traffic does not justify additional clearance of the higher, fixed-span option. “Saffo also questioned the amount of commercial development on the northern end of the river and noted that the area has not been dredged since the 1990s.”

One resident questioned why the proposed bridge’s height is based on a study from 1996. “‘We would never build a road today with traffic counts from 1996. I don’t know why we would build a bridge from data from 1996.’”

In Tuscaloosa Thread, former Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama executive Johnnie Aycock lauds a coalition of local and regional leaders advancing community dialogue about the future of the privately owned Black Warrior Parkway Toll Bridge (formally designated the Tuscaloosa By-Pass).

Dialogue to date, including a public meeting last year that Alabama DOT and representatives from the governor’s office were expected to attend, have explored three possibilities: having ADOT purchase the existing bridge, building a publicly owned replacement, or developing another western route that would be toll-free. (The facility currently is controlled by the global private markets manager CVC through its holding CVC DIF.)

“The opportunity is significant,” Aycock writes. “More than 8,000 vehicles crossed the privately operated bridge each day in 2023. Nearby, the Airport Industrial Park already supports around 1,600 jobs and has more than 400 acres available for future development.”

He said an update should be forthcoming in early October, which he hopes will begin to ask practical questions about how the options will be evaluated and how the project would be led and financed. Aycock also suggests that “cooperation, transparency and a clear process” should continue to undergird momentum.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority has scheduled two public meetings on its plans for SR 534, which would intersect Split Oak Forest in Osceola County on its 14-mile route from SR 417 in Orange County, Spectrum News 13 reports. The agency will hold an in-person meeting 5:30 – 7:30 PM today, September 16, and a virtual public hearing 5:30 – 7:30 PM tomorrow, September 17.

The project is intended to ease congestion in the corridor, and construction could start as early as next year. That’s despite a 2020 ballot measure in Orange County that restricted land use in Split Oak Forest, and pending litigation regarding nearby property that opponents hope can thwart the project. CFX, meanwhile, has filed eminent domain lawsuits in its pursuit of the route.

Some neighborhood groups in Charlotte say they’re frustrated that city leaders appear to be considering capitulating to state pressure to reverse their opposition to North Carolina DOT’s proposed I-77 South Express Lanes P3 project, Queen City News reports.

City staff have advised that if Charlotte is forced to repay a portion of NCDOT’s nearly $70 million in design costs for the currently cancelled project, “council would likely have to raise property taxes or cut funding for other city projects, like affordable housing initiatives.”

Not all city council members have yet decided where they’ll stand on September 21, when they will vote on the issue.

Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte Mecklenburg NAACP, said even though the project would disrupt a historic Black neighborhood in the city, NCDOT’s proposal to invest $300 million of the P3 arrangement’s funds toward community benefits would be a worthwhile game-changer for people in need.

But Sean Langley, president of the McCrorey Heights Neighborhood Association, said the discussion of community investments only distracts from a more fundamental opposition to the project itself. “‘If our elected officials don’t stand by us, then we will seek to find different elected officials,’” he said.

The Washington State DOT (WSDOT) Toll Division announced a request for proposals — RFP 2026-0911 — regarding its Roadway Toll Systems (RTS) Modernization Programs. WSDOT aims to procure two contracts:

• Contract A: ORT Roadway Toll Systems (including gantry-based all- electronic tolling for single-point and express toll lane (ETL) facilities, aos well as  ptions for future facility implementations).
• Contract B: Side-Fire Roadway Toll Systems (including a proof-of- concept deployment for side-fire toll collection without any overhead equipment, as well as options for future facility implementations).

Vendors have the option to respond to one or both contracts. Each contract will be evaluated and awarded independently. WSDOT intends to award both ORT RTS and side-fire RTS facilities contracts, “depending on the scope and needs of the projects.”

See the RFP documents for requirements and scheduling details. Vendors can access the materials solely through Washington’s Electronic Business Solution (WEBS), which requires online registration.