These Triangle companies aim to make commuting easier during NCDOT construction project
(Triangle Business Journal – May 22, 2015)
Starting next month, the N.C. Department of Transportation will begin closing lanes along an eight-mile stretch of I-40 near Raleigh as part of its Fortify construction project. The work is expected to slow traffic for the next year.
But rather than have their employees brave the commute each day, several local companies are coming up with alternatives.
Cisco Systems, Citrix, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, NetApp, Quintiles and Red Hat are giving employees the chance to take advantage of flexible work schedules, transit passes and telecommuting. Red Hat began allowing employees to trade their parking passes in for GoPasses, which allow employees to ride local buses for free.
Joe Milazzo, executive director of the Regional Transportation Alliance, says the options the companies have come up with will improve employees’ quality of life.
“These companies deserve some real credit,” Milazzo says. “We’re lucky to have companies in our area that are focused on the broader community in addition to their employees’ satisfaction.”
Milazzo says NCDOT is taking steps to ensure the Fortify project is as easy on drivers as possible. “But when there is a crash, as there inevitably will be, people are going to need to 'fortify' their patience,” he says.