Market Street will be closed on three occasions Friday morning for the funeral of Sgt. Thomas J. Butler IV. The closures will affect the flow of traffic along Market Street between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Each closure will last about 25-30 minutes.
At 8:30 a.m., the North Carolina Highway Patrol and Wilmington Police Department will conduct a practice run with the funeral procession from Andrews Mortuary at 1617 Market St. to First Baptist Church at 411 Market St.
At 10:15 a.m., the procession will travel from Andrews Mortuary to the church–from Market Street to North Sixth Street, onto Princess Street and end at First Baptist Church on Fifth Avenue.
The church service is scheduled to end at noon, at which time the casket and Butler’s family will be escorted from the church to Wilmington National Cemetery.
The Wilmington Police Department asks those paying tribute to Butler along the route not to park along the escort route Friday morning. Instead attendees should park on side streets or satellite locations.
