SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — As the main artery connecting New Hanover and Brunswick counties prepares to shutter two lanes for three months at a time in each direction, drivers will have to find alternative ways to cross the Cape Fear River.
READ MORE: 2 lanes of CF Memorial Bridge to close for months-long repair
ALSO: 5-month lane shutdown slated for costly CF bridge deck replacement
This includes detours for container trucks — 20-to 40-feet long and weighing tens of thousands of pounds. Trucks normally exit the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge onto north Front Street to travel up to Burnett Boulevard to get to the ports.
According to North Carolina Department of Transportation, they will not be detoured to travel down Third Street from the Isabel Holmes Bridge to reach the Port of Wilmington. Instead, between 300 and 700 trucks will travel daily from Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to South College Road to Shipyard Boulevard to reach the ports. Motorists also will be directed to I-140 to reach I-40.
North Carolina State Ports Authority executive director Brian Clark asked the Wilmington City Council Nov. 27 to consider allowing container trucks to use Third Street through downtown to traverse to and from the port. He said this route would save about 5 miles and they would face eight fewer traffic signals than using South College Road.
In 2013, the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization endorsed a request from the NCDOT to add “no through truck” restrictions on Market Street and other roads, including Third, 16th and 17th streets generally north of Wooster Street.
However, during the 2024 road closure, NCDOT offered to pay for any damages to Third Street or required tree trimmings and alterations to accommodate trucks on the street. After deliberations, the City of Wilmington informed NCDOT Wednesday it will not allow the container trucks to use the downtown roadway as a detour.
“The city evaluated the request and determined that the anticipated impacts on public safety and the operation of the street grid made the detour request not feasible at this time,” city spokesperson Lauren Edwards wrote in an email.
The city is also developing emergency response plans, gathering data and information on potential impacts of the bridge closure to help the community navigate the situation, she added.
“The department is going to look at the current detour route to see if any accommodations need to be made with anticipated additional truck traffic,” NCDOT spokesperson Lauren Haviland said. “If needed, those changes will be made prior to the closure.”
The reason for the bridge closure is to replace the riding deck, according to division 3 engineer Chad Kimes. The work can only be done by closing two lanes at a time based on construction needs of the structure.
From the beginning of January to April 1, the inbound lanes for travelers coming from Brunswick County into New Hanover will be closed. No cars will be allowed to use eastbound lanes and will be rerouted to the Isabel Holmes Bridge to enter Wilmington.
Work still stop for one week during Azalea Festival and then the westbound lanes will be closed going into Brunswick County from April 8 until around Memorial Day.
Kimes told PCD the contractor, Southern Road and Bridge, is available beginning Jan. 3, but the exact start date has not yet been confirmed; Kimes hopes to have it solidified by Friday.
“The main controlling factor is the date for receiving the structural steel,” Kimes added.
NCDOT is paying $7.1 million to Southern Road and Bridge to perform the extensive work, but has incentivized the company with $500,000 to complete the job early, by May 23. Additionally, a $200,000 bonus is on the table to ensure it’s done by the June 28 deadline. The money will allow crews to work around the clock.
Adding truck traffic to the midtown city traffic will create a headache for residents, something local officials have been adamant needs to be communicated.
NCDOT publicly announced its plans for a wintertime repair to the WMPO in May. The department released a tentative schedule in August and Port City Daily published a story about it Sept. 1; the StarNews also published NCDOT’s plans on July 27.
At the Nov. 29 Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organizations board meeting, Kimes provided an update on the repairs and impacts the closures will have. He also told the board that NCDOT would host a media event as it inched closer to the construction date to ensure the word spread.
Yet, for some New Hanover County Board of Commissioners, NCDOT hasn’t done enough to communicate its plans.
“NCDOT should have made provisions to alert the community a long time prior to this,” Commissioner Jonathan Barfield said at Monday’s meeting.
An update from NCDOT was not a publicized item on the county’s meeting agenda. Haviland explained the county asked an NCDOT representative to attend the Dec. 8 agenda review and Dec. 11 meeting “to give an update.” NCDOT declined the offer since there was nothing new to share.
“Our staff informed them we had no new information to give and would provide an update after critical meetings this week,” she added.
Barfield admonished NCDOT for not showing up to the meeting.
“It’s a dereliction of duty to our community,” he continued. “This is major and impacts public safety for both counties.”
Commissioner Dane Scalise said at the meeting, regardless of what NCDOT does in terms of communication, the county should plan its own messaging for residents.
“We should coordinate with the city, Brunswick County, Leland, put our resources together and use our respective bullhorns to make sure the community is aware of this,” he said.
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