North Carolina
‘This has become my family.’ North Carolina’s new Transportation Secretary is an agency veteran
There’s a new leader at the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Joey Hopkins has spent his entire career at NCDOT. Governor Roy Cooper appointed the Rockingham County native and N.C. State alum transportation secretary in October.
WUNC’s Bradley George recently spoke to Hopkins at his office in Downtown Raleigh.
This conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
You have billions of dollars coming in, thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law. How has some of that money already being put to use here in North Carolina?
Joey Hopkins: “The bipartisan infrastructure law has been a great benefit to the department. Historically, we get somewhere between $1 and $1.5 billion in federal dollars come into North Carolina every year. And through the bipartisan infrastructure law, we got an increase of about 20% on most of our capital programs, and another 30% on our transit programs. So that’s been a great benefit for us. We’ve been able to help buy new buses for transit fleets across the state, we’ve been able to keep other projects on schedule our capital projects through our capital program. And you see it all across the state. And whether there’s highway expansion or sidewalk projects, or traffic signals, we’re putting that money to good use.”
Everybody’s dealing with inflation. And certainly, when you think about raw materials that you need for construction — steel, concrete, gravel, pavement, etc. — those things cost more. How are you able to balance the inflationary pressure of dealing with that situation with the fact that you do have this additional funding for these projects?
Hopkins: “That’s something that, of course, we’re dealing with, like everybody is across the country and even the world since COVID. Here, there’s a lot of issues with the supply chain. There’s a lot of issues now with what people are calling great resignation and having enough manpower — not only in-house manpower — but also with our contractors and consultants that that do work with us. And so, one thing we’ve been able to do with the funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law, and additional funding that our own state legislature has granted us, we are now recipients of a portion of the sales tax that goes into our program. That’s helped us to offset some of those inflationary challenges that we’ve seen and not delay projects as much as we were having to. There still have been some delays overall. But we’ve been able to keep the most important projects on schedule and keep them pushing forward.”
You mentioned staffing issues, and I spoke to one of your HR people a couple of months ago for a story. You’d launch this partnership program in your different division offices to help with some of the staffing issues. How’s that been going so far?
Hopkins: “Overall, we’re struggling to get our vacancy rate down. Our vacancy rate right now is hovering around 21%. Our turnover rate is still pretty high. But we are seeing an uptick in applications that we’re receiving for job postings. I think the numbers that I’ve seen, we’ve hired over 500 people since July within the department to help offset some retirements and people going into other jobs. We’ve got two great programs, that we’re working with our Historically Black Colleges and Universities and also our Minority Serving Universities. One is an internship program, where we hire summer interns. Another is a fellow program, where we hire recent graduates of those universities and bring them on to a two-year program with the department. We’ve had, I think the number is over 25 recruitment events this year. Our HR offices (are) being more focused on recruiting where before we would go to these different job fairs at universities. Now we’re going to the departments that are having specific job fairs. As an example, a civil engineering job fair, to be more of a direct recruiting effort there. And we’re being successful. We’re just not seeing the numbers change a lot in the short term.”
DMV is part of DOT and there have been some challenges particularly in The Triangle with wait times at DMV offices. I know DMV is trying to work to bring those wait times down. Has there been any progress on that? Any updates you can share?
Hopkins: “Wait times is something we struggle with. The bigger issue is the number of transactions that we have to do. We have done some changes, and we continue to look for ways to improve. Some things we’ve done, we’ve extended office hours in many of our offices in urban areas. So, now we’re opening at 7 a.m., at over 40 of our 115 offices. We also offer some Saturday hours. I would also encourage people to look and see if they can do their transaction online. And if you don’t know, you can always call (919-715-7000) to find out whether you can do something online or not to get help with that.”
You’re somebody who spent your entire career in this agency. When you started out 30 some years ago, did you ever think that you were going stay with the DOT? Or that you would actually be leading this organization?
Hopkins: “No, I never had a dream of that type. I look back on my career and I started when I was still in college as a temporary. At the time, I was just trying to pay the bills and get a job that helped do that. It’s something I liked doing and I loved it so much. This has become my family. I’ve had career goals over the years. Some of those I have met, some others I have not. But even in the recent past I never dreamed I would be Secretary of Transportation. I’m proud to be a leader of this organization and be part of this team.”
North Carolina
Tropical Storm Debby: ‘Historic,’ ‘catastrophic’ flooding possible on South Carolina coast
Tropical Storm Debby closing in on Florida, hurricane warnings issued
Strong winds and rain batter coastal Florida as Tropical Storm Debby intensifies
Tropical Storm Debby, in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday afternoon and headed toward the Big Bend area of Florida, is forecast to impact parts of South Carolina and North Carolina this week. Alerts have been issued for the storm that could bring potentially historic rainfall, rough surf and flooding to these regions.
At 2 p.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory for Tropical Storm Debby, noting that it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall Monday morning. Debby is expected to move slowly across northern Florida and into southern Georgia before moving into the Atlantic Ocean and up the coast.
The cone that shows the storm’s probable path includes much of S.C. However, many variables remain, including the strength of the still-developing storm and its exact eventual path.
Track Tropical Storm Debby
Track Debby: South Carolina Storm Tracker and Model Mixer
What can we expect in South Carolina?
The Hurricane Center’s forecast shows the center of the storm reaching South Carolina by about 8 p.m. Tuesday. But effects like heavy rain could start as early as Monday night.
Rainfall along the coast is expected to be the main concern. The S.C. coast from the southern part of the state past the Charleston area could see 16-20 inches of rain, with local amounts of up to 30 inches. That will likely result in “considerable” flash and urban flooding, and some river flooding is possible, the Hurricane Center said.
“Heavy rainfall will likely result in considerable flooding impacts from the Florida Big Bend region through southeast Georgia and the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas through Friday,” the Hurricane Center said. “Potentially historic heavy rainfall across southeast Georgia and South Carolina through Friday morning may result in areas of catastrophic flooding. Significant river flooding is also expected.”
The likelihood of storm surges creates a life-threatening situation, the Hurricane Center said. Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions. Promptly follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials.
Rain of about 1-4 inches is forecast for parts of the Upstate.
What watches and warnings are in effect in South Carolina?
A flood watch is in effect from 2 a.m. Monday through Friday morning for southeast South Carolina, including Allendale, Beaufort, Charleston, Coastal Colleton, Coastal Jasper, Dorchester, Hampton, Inland Berkeley, Inland Colleton, Inland Jasper and Tidal Berkeley.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for Charleston, McClellanville and Edisto Island. The forecast calls for winds of 20-30 mph with gusts to 40 mph.
A storm surge watch is in effect beginning Monday afternoon for Charleston, McClellanville and Edisto Island, with a potential of 2-4 feet above ground.
What other watches and warnings are in effect?
As of Sunday afternoon the depression was about 125 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida.
- A hurricane warning is in effect for Florida coast from the Suwannee River to the Ochlockonee River.
- A hurricane watch is in effect for the Florida coast west of the Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass * Florida coast south of the Suwannee River to Yankeetown.
- A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Dry Tortugas, the Florida coast south of the Suwannee River to East Cape Sable and the Florida coast west of the Ochlockonee River to Indian Pass.
- A tropical storm watch is in effect for the Florida coast west of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach, and the Georgia and South Carolina coast from the Mouth of the St. Mary’s River to South Santee River South Carolina.
- A storm surge warning is in effect for the Florida coast from the middle of Longboat Key northward to Indian Pass including Tampa Bay.
- A storm surge watch is in effect for the Florida coast from Bonita Beach northward to the middle of Longboat Key, including Charlotte Harbor, and thr Georgia and South Carolina coast from the Mouth of the St. Mary’s River to South Santee River South Carolina.
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Where is Tropical Storm Debby?
Track it: South Carolina Storm Tracker and Model Mixer
Conditions at 2 p.m. Aug. 4:
- Location: 125 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida.
- Maximum sustained winds: 65 mph.
- Movement: North-northwest at 13 mph.
More: Heat advisory in effect for Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson, precautions to stay cool
Are you prepared for a hurricane?
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Even if this system won’t pose a threat to the Upstate, it’s never too early to be prepared.
Iris Seaton, Carolinas Connect, and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida, contributed.
Todd Runkle is the Carolinas Connect editor and also a content coach for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at trunkle@gannett.com.
ASHEBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — The North Carolina Zoo is celebrating 50 years.
Located in Asheboro, the zoo houses about 1,700 animals and over 250 species primarily from Africa and North America.
On social media, NC Zoo wrote Friday:
“Throughout our history, we’ve been home to a diverse array of remarkable animals, dedicated keepers, and passionate employees who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Join us in honoring this milestone by visiting the Zoo in 2024!”
The Zoo also mentioned the Zoo’s first animals, which were two Galapagos tortoises named Tort and Retort.
The post said in part: “These two tortoises symbolize the early days of the North Carolina Zoo and are cherished deeply in our hearts.”
The North Carolina Zoo is one of two state-supported zoos in the country. The other is the Minnesota Zoo.
Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.
North Carolina
NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank
With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.
MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.
A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.
More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?
North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous
According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:
- Louisiana – 7.55/10
- California – 7.21/10
- New Mexico – 6.74/10
- Hawaii – 6.73/10
- Delaware – 6.67/10
- New Jersey – 6.53/10
- Mississippi – 6.47/10
- North Carolina – 6.39/10
- Massachusetts – 6.33/10
- Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10
According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.
For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.
The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.
More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?
Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.
Brunswick County
Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.
New Hanover County
Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.
Pender County
Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.
Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.
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