Video courtesy of NCDOT.
HAMPSTEAD –– Pender County announced today that the Hampstead Bypass is now fully funded and will move forward with construction next year.
Pender County Commissioner David Piepmeyer announced in a release Thursday that the major project has now officially been given the green light.
“The funding, approximately $113 million, for construction of both sections of the Hampstead Bypass has finally been formally approved,” said Piepmeyer. “While design of both sections is in its final stages and land acquisition is well underway, this clears the path to allow construction to begin in 2020 with completion coming in 2025.”
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the 13-mile, four lane divided highway will be built in two sections: the first will extend from I-40 to N.C. 210 and the second from N.C. 210 to U.S. 17, north of Topsail High School.
Both sections of the project are funded through the State Transportation Improvement Program.
Piepmeyer said that the bypass is the largest project in NCDOT Division 3, which includes both New Hanover and Brunswick counties. The funding for the project came largely because of the regional support it received from the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO) – which Piepmeyer serves as chairman – as well as the NCDOT Division 2 and Division 3, Piepmeyer said.
“I know 2025 seems like a long time in the future, but this has been greatly accelerated and is a much better date than was forecasted in the original plan,” said Piepmeyer.
According to Pender County Commissioner David Williams, who has served as the WMPO commissioner in the past, the bypass will “alleviate pressure and help prevent crashes along almost all of the US 17 corridor in Pender County.”
“Safety has always been our driver on this project,” Williams said.
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