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Representatives from the North Carolina Department of Transportation will host an informal, open-house forum on Thursday, Feb. 6 to discuss proposed ideas on how to improve 15th Street between U.S. 17 Business and U.S. Highway 264 in Washington. 

The forum will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Washington 15th Street Church of God. 

According to NCDOT, the project “will provide four 11-foot travel lanes, a 17.5-foot-wide concrete median, curb and gutter, a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot multi-use path on the south side of 15th Street.”  

In the last decade, NCDOT has made multiple attempts to alleviate traffic congestion and fix safety issues on 15th street to no avail. Initial plans and designs to revamp the road spanning 1.6 miles began in 2015. In December of 2016, Washington City Council voted against NCDOT’s plans, putting a pause on the project until 2023. 

In November of 2020, the City of Washington paid Canadian engineering, architecture and environmental consulting firm, Stantec, $75,000 to re-design 15th Street; however, those designs were rejected by council. Those plans included reducing 15th Street from four lanes to one lane each way with dedicated left turn lanes and pocket medians while staying within the current 60-ft. right of way. It also included moving curbs and gutters in where asphalt is to allow for sidewalks/bicycle paths on both sides. In Stantec’s design, the city would have moved a sewer line under the road to fix utility issues, the Daily News reported in March of 2021. 

In 2023, NCDOT and the City of Washington restarted the project and revised previously proposed designs. Revisions to the 2016 plans were made based on residents’ feedback.  

Which is why, the department explained, “Lane widths have been adjusted to 11 feet to minimize the roadway footprint and reduce impacts,” 

“Some sections of the previously proposed concrete median have been removed and left turns and U-turns will be incorporated based on traffic needs,” 

“A multi-use path, sidewalks, and crosswalks are being added to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety. The locations for crosswalks, ADA-compliant median cut-throughs, and pedestrian signals will be determined as the design progresses and incorporates ongoing public input.” 

Projected local and regional growth is why NCDOT is trying to fix one of the most dangerous roadways in Beaufort County. The improvements, the department says, will “address future traffic volume needs” by giving enough space for increased traffic while making enough room for cars waiting to turn left without holding up traffic. 

Too, the improvement project aims to make access points to 15th Street safer through adding a median. The median is expected to prevent drivers from making left-turns across several lanes of traffic. 

The project is currently in the planning and preliminary engineering stages, but “right of way and utility relocation is scheduled to begin in August 2025 and construction is scheduled to begin in June 2028. These dates are subject to change based on construction phasing.” 

The project is estimated to cost $38 million. 

Map designs can be found at: https://publicinput.com/15th-street-improvements