The PPD IRONMAN North Carolina Triathlon, formerly called the PPD Beach to Battleship Triathlon, is this weekend in New Hanover County, and several roads in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach will be closed because of it.
PPD IRONMAN North Carolina alters bike course due to Hurricane Matthew
In downtown Wilmington, where the running and part of the cycling portion of the race will occur, some roads will be closed starting on Friday morning. The following streets will close on Friday, Oct. 21 at 9 a.m. and reopen after noon on Sunday, Oct. 23:
- Brunswick Street between North Front and Nutt streets
- Hanover Street between North Front and Nutt streets
- Nutt Street between Brunswick Street and the entrance to the Wilmington Convention Center Parking Deck
Red Cross Street will remain open for access to the Best Western Plus Coastline Inn, Coastline Conference and Event Center, the Wilmington Railroad Museum and the Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau office.
There will be two lane closures and some probable delays in Wilmington from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22:
- Westbound right hand lane of Eastwood Road
- Northbound right hand lane of Military Cutoff Road
- Probable traffic on northbound Market Street at Porters Neck Road
From 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, the following lanes/roads will be closed:
- Southbound Highway 76 from Brunswick County to the Isabel Holmes Bridge
- Eastbound left lane of US 74 on the Isabel Holmes Bridge
Several more streets and lanes will be closed from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 as the marathon course runs from downtown Wilmington to Greenfield Lake:
- Southbound lane of North Front Street between North 3rd and Harnett streets
- Westbound lane of Harnett Street
- Southbound lane of Front Street from Walnut to Greenfield streets
- Walnut Street between North Front and North Water streets
- North Water Street between Red Cross and Grace streets (access to the Hilton hotel parking lot will remain open)
- Greenfield Street between South Front and 5th streets
- Inside lane of West Lakeshore Drive closest to Greenfield Lake (no vehicular traffic allowed clockwise around the lake)
- Amphitheater and Honeysuckle Drives around Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
- Southbound Highway 17/74/76 exit ramp closed (traffic will be detoured to 3rd Street from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
- Highway 76 to Northbound 421 (traffic will be detoured to the second eastbound exit ramp off Cape Fear Memorial Bridge then back to on ramp and over the bridge to Highway 421 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
Traffic in Wrightsville Beach, which is hosting the swimming portion of the triathlon, will be affected early on Saturday morning. Eastbound traffic heading to the beach and westbound traffic leaving the beach will be diverted to Highway 74/Salisbury Street. Other streets that will experience traffic delays include:
- Highway 76/Causeway Drive
- Old Causeway Drive
- Dock Street
- Seacrest Drive
- Keel Street
- Short Street
- Marina Street
The Wrightsville Beach Police Department will have officers directing traffic where necessary. Normal traffic flow should return by 10:45 a.m., according to the town.
