CHARLOTTE — Over $25 billion has been budgeted over the next 10 years for road improvements across North Carolina, and now the Department of Transportation is looking for disadvantaged small businesses to award contracts to help maintain 80,000 miles of roadways.
“We’ve always engaged minority and small businesses in our contracting but right now, we’re trying to go that extra mile -- make an outreach effort,” Brett Canipe with NCDOT said.
#NCDOT Engineer Brett Canipe spoke w/ @wsoctv's Mark Taylor about working with disadvantaged businesses.
— NCDOT (@NCDOT) June 17, 2021
Learn more at an upcoming outreach meeting >> https://t.co/vS3vApIR4B pic.twitter.com/fZC8v07Yea
The contracts range from multi-million dollar construction projects to maintenance and landscaping to roadside litter pickup and even ice removal. But how hard is it to be awarded one of the contracts?
“It’s not that difficult,” Canipe said. “It may seem so to someone who is new to it. We’re here to help those folks who are interested to start that new effort.”
NCDOT is holding an outreach event for Mecklenburg County on June 26 at 10 a.m. More information here.
>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9 breaks down the hardships some minority-owned businesses have when it comes to contract opportunities and what NCDOT is doing to help.
>>On Friday, we’re digging into disparities that exist for minority families in Charlotte. We will be discussing everything from housing and employment to building wealth for future generations. We’re also looking into what’s causing the gaps and what can be done to close them. Join us for our special report “Talking about Race and Money” Friday at 8 p.m. on Channel 9.
(WATCH: New NCDOT tool showcases costs for road improvements)
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