WILMINGTON — A company that proposed to build a new Cape Fear Memorial Bridge in 2021 has returned to the table with a spinoff subsidiary once again making an offer to design and scale the 135-foot design. The company also included a toll to see through the project.
The Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization will explore the unsolicited proposal from Delivering Bridges LLC — a spinoff of United Bridge Partners.
The company submitted the plan to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new six-lane fixed-span bridge, with a target opening for 2031. The total cost of the bridge is expected to be $1.1-billion and has some funding from North Carolina Department of Transportation and a federal grant; the company proposes a toll to make up the rest at up to $2.75 per crossing.
READ MORE: State-run v. public-private toll: Pros and cons weighed on funding CF Memorial Bridge
United Bridge Partners isn’t new to WMPO; the company submitted an unsolicited proposal similar to the current one in 2021. The proposal set off a discussion over tolling the bridge replacement, which some local leaders argued against.
Still, a majority of the WMPO voted on a resolution in May 2025 to continue exploring all possible funding options, inclusive of a toll, to get the bridge replacement built.
At Wednesday’s meeting, some members of the WMPO interpreted the resolution’s sentiment to include assessment of any unsolicited proposals for the bridge as well.
“We’ve got to move forward with replacing this bridge, and I don’t want 20 years from now for people to sit back and say: ‘Why didn’t those folks on the WMPO examine all options, and we’re sitting here with no bridge instead of new bridge,’” Brunswick County Commissioner Frank Williams said.
Delivering Bridges LLC’s proposed public-private partnership used funding secured by the company and existing public grant funding. The NCDOT has dedicated $85 million to the project and secured a $242-million federal grant, though this will only put a small dent in the estimated billion-dollar price tag. Without alternative funding means — such as a tri-county transit sales tax that a WMPO subcommittee briefly discussed last year — the WMPO and NCDOT may be forced to consent to a tolled facility to keep the project moving forward.
Delivering Bridges LLC’s toll will be charged each way crossing the bridge for the company to accrue revenue. Under a public-private partnership, the state and private developer would sign a revenue-sharing agreement, but unlike a fully state-run facility, the developer would not have to stop charging the toll once it recouped the debt issued for the project.
Though, one benefit to the public-private partnership model would be the option to offer tolling discounts for lower-income drivers or frequent crossers. The state is currently unable to set different prices for various customers.
If the WMPO were to accept the private company’s proposal after review, the North Carolina Department of Transportation would proceed with a formal assessment, involving technical, environmental, engineering, financial and legal considerations.
However, the acceptance of the unsolicited proposal would not replace NCDOT’s standard procurement process. The project would still be subject to a competitive public bidding process in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes and NCDOT’s public-private partnership policies. Delivering Bridges LLC may be included on a shortlist of qualified proposers, but would not be awarded the project without competition.
Though the unsolicited proposal was the item of action on Wednesday, the discussion over the bridge was broad.
“How long do we explore options?” new WMPO board member and Navassa Mayor Rose Terry asked.
Staff clarified the federal $242-million grant will expire at the end of 2027 if the project does not move forward. NCDOT officials confirmed the agency is on track to build the bridge with a toll barring a vote from the WMPO to stop or an alternative funding model is put forth.
With grant funding considered maxed out, the WMPO is still facing at least a $700-million deficit when it comes to funding the bridge. A WMPO subcommittee did explore the implementation of a tri-county transit sales tax, similar to the one recently approved for Mecklenburg County, but no decision was reached. The WMPO — which has several new members after the 2025 election — did not indicate it wanted to continue the subcommittee’s work at Wednesday’s meeting.
Still, some leaders expressed aversion to a toll.
Wilmington’s Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Spears stressed there was no rush to replace the bridge, urging against hasty but long-lasting decisions.
“It’s not going to fall or collapse,” he said. “It’s going to be expensive, expensive to maintain it. But I’m just saying that it’s functionally sound.”
The bridge, constructed in 1969, costs around half-a-million dollars to maintain annually due to its aging parts and moveable span, which creates more wear and tear. NCDOT also invested $7.1 million to rehabilitate the bridge in early 2024, replacing the deck and steel stringers, which extended its life by approximately 10 years. However, parts to continuously upkeep the bridge are becoming harder to obtain.
The proposed replacement bridge will be a fixed span and is expected to last for another 50 to 100 years.
Though it’s against state law to toll an existing roadway, the replacement will be considered a new structure, according to NCODT, thus circumventing that restriction.
“My heart just tells me [it’s] the wrong thing to do,” Leland Mayor Brenda Bozeman said, referring to the toll.
[Ed. note: The article has been updated to correctly attribute a quote to Navassa Mayor Rose Terry; PCD regrets the error.]
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