WILMINGTON — After nearly eight years of design revisions, funding pauses, and updated traffic modeling, state transportation officials have finalized the recommended plan to overhaul the interchange at N. College Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.
Presented at a Jan. 29 public meeting at UNCW by North Carolina Department of Transportation staff, the long-term effort to upgrade the interchange is coming into focus in order to service nearly 88,900 vehicles daily by 2045. The $288.5 million project replaces the current traffic signal with a multi-level interchange. For the 50,000 daily drivers who currently navigate through North College and MLK, the proposal scraps the traditional intersection in favor of an underpass/overpass configuration and a curved flyover — an elevated bridge carrying traffic over intersections.
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The plan also includes widening about 2.5 miles of N. College Road between Market Street and Gordon Road to six lanes, and adds side lanes, designed to keep traffic moving through the corridor without stopping. The design is NCDOT’s recommended proposal, but public input can still trigger revisions.
The current blueprint is a major departure from 2018, previously keeping roads at ground level and having vehicles use U-turns and timed traffic lights. What began as a $95-million project eight years ago climbed to $137.9 million by 2023. A final pivot in 2025 to a multi-level interchange and six-lane widening nearly tripled the final estimate.
The new multi-level interchange drove up some of those costs as it will include an underpass/overpass system and a flyover bridge. MLK Jr. Parkway traffic will travel beneath N. College Road, while College Road is elevated on overpasses to cross above the Parkway. The high-level flyover will carry eastbound MLK traffic directly onto northbound College Road toward I-40. The additions are intended for through-traffic to bypass the intersection entirely without ever hitting a red light.
Expanding the existing four lanes to a six-lane road between Market Street and Gordon Road will keep the flow steady as well. The plan introduces protected side lanes, separate from the main highway, to act as a buffer zone for drivers entering from MLK Jr. Parkway or local streets like Ringo Drive and Kings Drive. By keeping merging cars separate, high-speed traffic on N. College Road can continue without stopping or slowing down for turning vehicles.
While the project is intended to clear the bottleneck at MLK Parkway, many residents worry the relief will be short-lived. Jerry Boyers was one of a few dozen who attended last week’s public meeting, hosted by NCDOT. Boyers is concerned the new flyover will act as a funnel, pushing the current gridlock further south toward the Gordon Road and Market Street intersections.
“This is barely going to keep up with what we already have, much less what we’re going to have in 10, 15, 20 years,” Boyers said. “I’m just not feeling it. I know what it’s supposed to do, and I’m not feeling that it’s doing what it’s supposed to.”
Addressing Boyers’ concern, NCDOT Project Manager Brian Harding explained engineers use 20-year forecasting to account for both current traffic volume and the long-term growth of the city. By coordinating with local planning departments, NCDOT factors in planned projects and potential residential developments based on future land-use maps.
To prevent a logjam further south, the state is currently widening Gordon Road to four lanes and has separate plans to widen South College Road between Shipyard Boulevard and New Centre Drive, with construction expected to begin by 2031. NCDOT expects the Gordon Road work to be nearly finished by the time the flyover construction is estimated to begin in three years, ensuring the two projects don’t overlap for an extended period.
Beyond the bridge and the new lanes, the $288.5 million price tag covers a complete rebuild of the road’s foundation. Known as full-depth reconstruction, this involves digging up the old road bed to build a thicker base capable of supporting the thousands of daily vehicles.
The budget also includes drainage upgrades — such as new underground pipes and collection ponds — to ensure the extra rainwater running off the wider road doesn’t flood nearby neighborhoods. Additionally, NCDOT has set aside $2.7 million to move existing water, sewer, and fiber-optic lines currently located where the new bridge supports will be placed.
While the project is considered “fully funded,” NCDOT officials said total costs remain preliminary. Because the state updates project estimates every two years or ahead of major milestones, like the start of right-of-way acquisition, the price could still change as engineers refine the exact materials needed for the final design.
Around $37.9 million is budgeted for property acquisitions, impacting 95 parcels along the corridor. While many owners may only lose a sliver of their yard for drainage or utilities, NCDOT has identified 13 residential relocations — homes to be completely removed — primarily clustered in the vicinity of the MLK and Kings Drive interchanges.
NCDOT officials plan to begin the right-of-way process in the summer of 2026. During this phase, state agents will meet with property owners to conduct appraisals and negotiate proper compensation based on a property’s fair market value. For the 13 households facing total relocation, NCDOT is required to provide relocation assistance, ensuring residents have at least 90 days’ notice and help find a comparable dwelling before they are required to move. NCDOT’s goal is to have these land deals finalized before heavy construction begins.
“Once we start, we don’t want to go out there and buy houses and relocate residents, then just sit there and not fund a project,” Harding said.
Not only are residents worried about right-of-way acquisition, they also expressed concerns to officials about increased noise. Since the flyover will elevate traffic high above the tree line, neighbors have voiced fears engine roar will carry much further into nearby yards.
NCDOT is currently conducting a noise study to see if the project hits the federal threshold for sound barriers, typically 66 decibels. Even if a wall is recommended, the state won’t build it automatically; a simple majority of benefited neighbors must first vote “yes” through an official balloting process conducted by NCDOT. Results of the noise study won’t be ready until late 2026.
NCDOT will have to relocate major water, sewer, and fiber-optic lines, expected by 2028 before construction is slated to begin in 2029. A final completion date is not yet established.
The project has faced a litany of setbacks since first broached eight years ago. In 2019, the department was forced to suspend hundreds of projects to cover Map Act legal settlements — payouts for freezing private land — while simultaneously spending nearly $300 million on emergency repairs following Hurricanes Florence and Michael.
As NCDOT began to stabilize, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic caused gas tax revenue to plummet, creating a $2-billion budget shortfall. The project didn’t find its footing again until the 2024-2033 State Transportation Improvement Program was finalized. This 10-year master plan officially re-committed the funding needed for the improvements.
However, years of delay also meant engineers had to recalibrate data. By the time the project was re-funded in 2023, traffic models showed the 2018 design would be obsolete in the long-term, necessitating the switch to the more expensive flyover.
When asked about the possibility of further setbacks, Harding could not speak in absolutes because statewide budgeting is always subject to change. However, he emphasized the project is fully funded and the department has rebuilt its reserves, making the current timeframe “a lot more solid” than in years past.
Once construction begins, it will be done in phases to keep people moving. The department plans to maintain two lanes of traffic in both directions throughout the majority of the build. Additionally, work requiring significant lane closures will be restricted to night hours to ensure road work doesn’t infringe on the daily commute for the thousands of drivers using the intersection.
The state is still accepting public feedback. Residents have until March 2, 2026, to submit official comments on the proposed design via the project’s website or by mail to the NCDOT Division 3 office. Following public comment, NCDOT engineers will review feedback before submitting a final design for approval by the State Highway Administrator and the Federal Highway Administration.
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