Ron Brown leads
CAGC as chair; other
directors announced
Publisher’s Viewpoint
Mark Buckshon, publisher
North Carolina Construction News staff writer
Ron Brown of State Utility Con-
tractors, Inc. in Munroe has as-
sumed the helm as 2019 chair of
the Carolinas Associated General
Contractors (CAGC) board of direc-
tors. Casey Schwager of Sloan Con-
struction Company, Inc., will be the
chair elect.
Other executive members and directors include:
Treasurer: Charlie Wilson, C. T. Wilson Construction
Company Vice-chair: Mark Johnnie, Balfour Beatty
Immediate past chair: Paul Mashburn, Mashburn
Construction Co., Inc.
CAGC president and CEO: Dave Simpson
Building division chair: Dean Wilson, Hood
Construction Utility division chair: David Stike, Sanford Contractors
Highway division chair: Jonathan Bivens, S. T. Wooten
Corporation Specialty division chair: Barry Wells, SimplexGrinnell
Supplier/service division chair: Robert Coon,
Scott Insurance
Directors at Large: Sam Young, Young & McQueen
Grading Co., Inc.; Greg Hughes, Contract Construction,
Inc.; and Ty Edmondson, T. A. Loving Co.
Appointed directors: Melvin Williams, S&ME, Inc. and
Traci Strickland, Eldeco, Inc.
North Carolina Construction News (NCCN) is distributed
throughout the Carolinas construction industry.
NCCN is circulated on a controlled circulation list to
qualified readers including members of most major
construction associations in the Carolinas. The maga-
zine is supplemented by a weekly e-letter which
reaches more than 4,000 industry leaders each week.
For information contact:
Chase, Phone: 1-888-627-8717 ext 212
chase@ncconstructionnews.com www.ncconstructionnews.com. ISSN 1940-3682.
2 — February – March 2019 — The North Carolina Construction News
Association awards, recessed lighting, and
fair housing law – these three topics have little
directly to do with each other, but together
they reflect the diverse opportunities and chal-
lenges within North Carolina’s architectural,
engineering and construction community.
When you think about it, each of us brings
some level of specialized expertise and knowl-
edge to the table, and then we connect our
talents to others to achieve significant and
durable results. Many pieces go into each
construction project puzzle. While we clearly
require specific trade and business knowl-
edge within our immediate responsibility, we
also need to understand and relate to many
others to achieve successful results.
The challenge for a construction industry
publication in 2019 is to distill the various op-
portunities, issues and challenges so that
readers can appreciate both the details and
the bigger picture. North Carolina Construc-
tion News applies several different ap-
proaches, including this magazine (best for
longer and more in-depth articles), our nc-
constructionnews.com website, and a weekly
eletter distributed each Wednesday.
Our readers and advertisers, of course,
benefit from the package, allowing for multi-
media business development opportunities.
Note that this magazine only contains a sam-
pling of the articles and images published on-
line, with updates most days. We’re always
looking for news about interesting projects
and developments, trends, and (yes) contro-
versies. If an issue is controversial, we’ll strive
to fairly report the different perspectives to
help you form our own opinions and conclu-
sions about the issue.
Advertisers benefit from editorialized fea-
tures (otherwise known as ‘native advertise-
ments’) and banner ads both in the newsletter
and on the website. We can track impres-
sions and click-throughs in real time, meaning
the results are highly measurable.
You can learn more how to promote your
business in these pages by connecting with
Chase at chase@nccconstructionnews.com.
And of course if you have story ideas or
news suggestions, please let me know at
buckshon@ncconstructionnews.com.
NCDOT outlines 1,600 projects
in 10 year transportation plan
North Carolina Construction News staff
writer North Carolina Department
of Transportation (NCDOT) has
included more than 1,600
transportation projects in the
draft 2020-2029 transportation
plan released at the Jan. 10
regular Board of Transporta-
tion meeting.
The State Transportation
Improvement Program (STIP)
is NCDOT's proposed funding
and construction schedule for
projects to be completed dur-
ing the next 10 years.
The plan is updated every
two years, NCDOT says in a
statement. Projects scheduled in the first five years of a
plan are considered committed and are not re-evalu-
ated, but projects in the final five years of the 10-year
plan are prioritized again, along with suggested new
projects. The Board of Transportation is expected to
consider final approval of the draft plan this summer.
See details about STIP projects at the NCDOT website
The draft STIP includes projects in all 100 counties in
the state and all modes of transportation. The projects
break down this way: 1,266 highway, 86 aviation, 235 bi-
cycle and pedestrian, six ferry, 23 public transit and 47
rail. Projects were selected based on technical data, as
well as input from local officials and residents.
A few of the major projects in the plan include:
• Upgrading 15 miles of U.S. 64 to Interstate 87 in
Nash and Edgecombe counties;
• constructing part of the U.S. 74 Wadesboro Bypass in
Anson County;
• improving I-77 south of Charlotte in Mecklenburg
County; • constructing the I-26 Connector in Buncombe
County; • adding a second passenger ferry for the Ocracoke Ex-
press route between Hatteras and Ocracoke;
• widening I-40 in Orange County between I-85 to U.S.
15-501; and
• upgrading U.S. 29 to Interstate 785 in Guilford and
Rockingham counties.
A complete breakdown of the projects in the draft
plan, as well as changes from the current 2018-2027
STIP, is available on the NCDOT website.
Each of the department’s 14 highway divisions will
schedule an in-house week-long public comment ses-
sion in February or March during normal business hours.
The sessions will serve as opportunities for interested
residents to review maps and handouts about the pro-
jects, ask questions of local NCDOT staff, and submit
comments. There will also be an opportunity for resi-
dents to submit comments online, with those details
being announced later.
Projects that did not score high enough to be funded
at the statewide level are rolled over to the regional
level to be considered for funding. Projects that were
not funded at the regional level could still be considered
at the division level. This cascading aspect of the pro-
cess helps ensure that local input from officials and resi-
dents plays an important role in prioritizing projects for
funding. Shumaker’s construction lawyers represent clients across the construction
industry: general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, owners, develop-
ers, architects, engineers, construction managers, and sureties.
Al Windle • 704.945.2176 • awindle@slk-law.com
The North Carolina Construction News — February – March 2019 — 3