ABERDEEN — Scotland County residents can share next week with transportation officials what improvements they want to see.

The N.C. Department of Transportation is seeking the public input for planning for the new State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), a 10-year blueprint of construction and multimodal projects. The program is updated every two years.

In the first phase of creating the draft, local NCDOT divisions and planning organizations submit projects for consideration for funding. Projects are then evaluated using a data-driven prioritization process; projects that score high enough are added to the STIP.

This public comment period will provide feedback as divisions submit projects for the STIP that will span from 2020 to 2029.

Each division will hold drop-in office hours for a week-long period to provide members of the public flexibility.

To give suggestions and hear about potential projects in Division 8, which includes Scotland, Chatham, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph and Richmond counties, residents can stop by the Division 8 Office from Monday through Friday. The office is at 902 N. Sandhills Blvd. in Aberdeen and is open for public comment from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to these open office hours, residents have until Aug. 31 to submit comments about the upcoming STIP process to Division Planning Engineer Bryan Kluchar at 910-944-2344, ext. 232 or [email protected], or by visiting NCDOT’s website.

Staff report