EDENTON, NC - The North Carolina Department of Transportation Highways Division recently completed installing over 100 new Historic Albemarle Tour (HAT) signs along the heritage trail's major thoroughfares in northeastern North Carolina. The $75,000 project was specially funded through a Statewide Contingency Project by the NC Board of Transportation to upgrade and add mileage and directional signs in the 17-county northeastern North Carolina region that is home to the Historic Albemarle Tour's member sites and towns.

The Historic Albemarle Tour is North Carolina's oldest heritage trail. It was founded in 1975 to weave together the diverse historical, cultural, and natural elements in the northeast corner of the state from the Outer Banks to Interstate 95. The self-guided tour connects 32 historic sites and towns that offer the traveler insight into the region's rich history.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has worked closely with HAT since 1975 to install and maintain the easily identifiable brown signs along the major routes that connect HAT sites. In recent years, however, the number of HAT sites has dramatically increased. In addition, HAT signs were in need of a uniformity that travelers could easily recognize.

The NCDOT project involved replacing old signs and adding signs that pointed to new HAT sites and historic towns. The new signs now identify HAT sites in brown with the HAT logo, as well as non-HAT site towns in the familiar NCDOT green.

The project is 90% completed. Once construction on several roadways in the region (such as US 64 from Plymouth to Manteo) is completed, the rest of the signs will be installed. Major highways on the Historic Albemarle Tour are US 64, US 264, US 158/168, NC 12, and US 17.

Founded in 1975, the Historic Albemarle Tour is a nonprofit tourism promotion association comprised of 32 historic sites and towns in the 17-county northeast North Carolina region and is one of the country's oldest heritage trails. Visit all of the HAT sites online and order a brochure with a trail map at www.historicnenc.com.