The 2013-14 State Transportation Map has officially arrived and is available free of charge. The map is funded and produced by the N.C. Dept. of Transportation, but it will now be distributed through the Division of Tourism and can be ordered online or by calling 1-800-VISITNC. “One of our central goals is to improve efficiency and streamline our operations,” N.C. Transportation Secretary Tony Tata said. “We are also striving to identify ways we can work together across state agencies to better serve North Carolina. By distributing the map through Visit NC, we can achieve cost savings by eliminating redundancies and better serve our travelers by allowing them to access all travel publications through a central source.”
Map orders, whether through VisitNC.com or 1-800-VISITNC, are fulfilled at the Division’s Call Center, located at the N.C. Correctional Institute for Women in Raleigh. Inmates take orders for the maps and package them for mailing, keeping expenses low. The Call Center also processes orders for the Division’s Official 2013 North Carolina Travel Guide.
The cover of the new map features a montage of North Carolina scenes, including the N.C. Veterans Park in Fayetteville; Mount Mitchell, near Burnsville and the highest point east of the Mississippi River; Johnnie Mercer’s Pier at Wrightsville Beach; Pinehurst No. 2, site of the 2014 U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open championships; research crops planted in Kinston; and uptown Charlotte.
In 2009, NCDOT transitioned from a one-year map to a two-year map, cutting printing costs in half. Also, starting with the 2011-12 edition, the state map went high-tech and began featuring a QR (Quick Response) code that can be scanned by cell phones and other mobile devices to link directly to NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website.
Maps are also available at the Division’s nine Welcome Centers, NCDOT rest areas and NCDOT offices across the state. For bulk requests, send the quantity desired along with shipping information to visitnc@nccommerce.com.