NEW HANOVER COUNTY – As traffic congestion on area roadways continues to be one of the main concerns among resident’s year in and year out, local officials are looking to get input from the public as part of a future street plan for northeastern New Hanover County.
New Hanover County, in coordination with the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), is hosting a workshop at the Northeast Public Library on Tuesday, April 25. Residents can drop in from 4-7 p.m. to learn more about the planning process.
The plan will serve as a framework for a future street system in the northeastern area of the county, bound by Holly Shelter Road and the county line to the north, I-40 to the west, US 17/US 17 Business (Market Street) to the east, and Gordon Road to the south. A map of the study area can be viewed below.
During the public workshop, county staff and a transportation consulting firm will provide information about the project. Residents and property owners will be able to give input on their priorities for the future street network in the study area.
“Public participation is an important part of this process because it will help develop a thorough plan and guiding document as this area develops,” said Chris O’Keefe, New Hanover County Planning and Land Use director. “With the county’s continued growth, careful planning like this is needed to ensure residents have more efficient access to the goods and services they need, now and in the future.”
The county is working with experts from a transportation consulting firm to study how well the existing transportation system performs and to develop street design guidelines that incorporate multiple modes of transportation and surrounding land uses. The planning process is expected to conclude by fall 2017.
Military Cutoff Road Extension set for October 2017
Market Street in both directions is one of the busiest stretches of roadway in the county from Porters Neck through Gordon Road as the main thoroughfare for many drivers each day.
The much anticipated Military Cutoff Road extension is expected to help relieve some of the daily congestion, but work on the project extending Military Cutoff through the many neighborhoods between Market Street and Wilmington bypass is just getting underway.
As part of the extension project, work on Lendire Road started earlier this month and continues through September. It will soon connect with Market Street and realigned with Middle Sound Loop Road near the new Publix grocery store location in Ogden.
According to the NC DOT, the $51.6 million Military Cutoff extension project should begin construction in late 2017. The four-mile, four-lane highway is aimed at easing traffic along Market between Ogden and Porters Neck, which handles 50,000 vehicles daily.
