Currently, Durham County does not own or undertake the maintenance of any streets or roads. Within the City of Durham, some roadways are maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) while others are maintained by the City of Durham. Roadways in unincorporated Durham County are maintained by either NCDOT or private entities. To determine which entity maintains a particular road please visit the Roads Map on the City and County Open Data Portal. Once you click on a road you may then scroll down to the field labeled “MAINT” to find the responsible jurisdiction.

Questions or concerns regarding City maintained infrastructure can be directed to the City Street Maintenance Division or by using Durham One Call.

Questions or concerns regarding NCDOT maintained infrastructure can be directed to NCDOT Division 5.

Orphan Roads

In the event that a developer does not turn over a newly constructed road to NCDOT, they become “orphan roads,” meaning that there is no legal entity responsible for maintaining the road. To view the network of NCDOT maintained roadway, please visit this interactive map which is updated quarterly.

NCDOT does not accept roads into their system that do not meet State requirements regarding condition and design. Orphan roads are a concern to the County since in the event of road degradation no entity is responsible for making repairs, which can lead to issues regarding public safety.

The Durham County Transportation Department is prepared to assist neighborhoods located on orphan roads transition roadway ownership to NCDOT. If you or your neighbors are interested, please contact both NCDOT Division 5 and County Transportation Staff.

Please note that a property assessment will be required to insert any orphan road into the NCDOT system. Fees associated with this assessment will be the responsibility of those property owners adjacent to the roadway.