HAMPSTEAD, N.C. — Aja Pierce commutes U.S. 17 four days a week. She knows every backup, every bottleneck and every workaround.
Pierce owns Wilder Side Beauty, a hair salon in Hampstead, but still drives to Wilmington four days a week for a second job. She has learned when to leave, which turns to take and when to just accept she is going to be late.
“It is unpredictable. Sometimes, I’ll leave an hour early for work and there’s a wreck, and I’m in standstill traffic,” Pierce said…