Last week the NCDOT announced plans to delay projects across the state, including $542 million-worth in Wilmington. Here’s an overview of the affected projects.
WILMINGTON — Multiple planned North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) projects in Wilmington, totaling more than $542 million, will be delayed due to an aggressive project schedule that required major adjustments after unexpected recovery costs from Hurricane Florence and other storms across the state.
On Wednesday the department released its new transportation plan, called the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which identifies construction funding and schedules for the 2020-2029 period. According to NCDOT spokesman Andrew Barksdale, the Board of Transportation anticipates to officially adopt the STIP at its meeting on September 5.
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He said the department awarded roughly $3 billion in statewide contracts in 2018, double than what was awarded in 2017, in an effort to more quickly deliver projects. After initially planning to maintain that pace with an aggressive 2019 funding schedule, he said the department decided to scale back.
“We really accelerated then we eased off the gas pedal a little bit,” Barksdale said.
More than $263 million of the delayed projects in Wilmington involve College Road improvements, including the widening of a 10-mile stretch of Wilmington’s busy thoroughfare.
According to NCDOT spokesman Steve Abbott, there are 28 delays of 138 total projects in Division 3, with 17 of those delays in New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties. He said the delays across the state reflect the department’s decision to scale back to spending levels before 2017 because of unplanned financial burdens.
“So we sped things up significantly a few years ago, and now we are returning to the pace from before then,” Abbott said. “Essentially we had a series of unplanned financial hits, the biggest being weather.”
From 2004 to 2016 the NCDOT spent an average of $66 million a year in recovery from hurricanes, snowstorms, rockslides, floods, and other storm-related events. Since 2017, he said that number has reached $220 million a year.
Meanwhile, the $340-million Hampstead Bypass project just north of Wilmington appears to be on track for a 2025 completion. Although the first segment was delayed in the most recent STIP, Division 3 Deputy Engineer Chad Kimes said the project’s high priority prevented any delays to its overall completion.
Below, a look at each project (plus two Hampstead projects), how long each is delayed, its cost, and a brief description:
Hampstead Bypass
On track: Although construction on the first section (connecting the I-140 Wilmington Bypass to N.C. 210) will be delayed from 2021 to 2023 to assist in balancing department funds, the second section (connecting N.C. 210 to U.S. 17 just north of Topsail High School) is still on track to go out for bid in September 2020. Construction typically begins two months after letting a project, according to NCDOT design engineer Trace Howell.
Division 3 Deputy Engineer Chad Kimes said that even with the first segment’s delay, the project is still on pace for a 2025 completion. The first section will connect to the in-progress Military Cutoff Extension Project to the south.
Project Overview: A new freeway connecting the I-140 Wilmington Bypass to U.S. 17 just north of Topsail High School in Hampstead.
Project Cost: $340.6 million
Widening College Road
Delayed: Segment A right-of-way is delayed from 2022 to 2023 and construction is delayed from 2025 to 2026; Segment B construction is no longer funded in the 2020-2029 STIP (it was originally scheduled to begin 2029).
Project Overview: U-5702 will improve access management (add driveways) and travel time by widening a 9.7-mile stretch of the road to three northbound and three southbound thru lanes. The project encompasses College Road between New Centre Drive and Carolina Beach Road.
Project Cost: $97.4 million
Widening Kerr Avenue
Delayed: Construction is delayed from 2020 to 2023.
Project Overview: U-3339 will widen Kerr Avenue, from Randall Parkway to MLK Jr. Parkway, to a multi-lane street.
Project Cost: $97 million
Major College Road Upgrades
Delayed: Right-of-way is delayed from 2022 to 2025 and construction is delayed from 2025 to 2028.
Project Overview: U-5881 includes major improvements to 2.9 miles of College Road between Gordon Road and New Centre Drive — additional thru and turn lanes, interchanges at Kings Drive and Ringo Street, and modifications to the interchange at College Road and Market Street.
Project Cost: $82.7 million
Market Street Improvements
Delayed: Construction is delayed from 2020 to 2024.
Project Overview: U-4902 will bring access management improvements to an 8.6-mile section of Market Street between Colonial Drive and Porters Neck Road.
Project Cost: $64.8 million
Hampstead Superstreet
Delayed: Construction is delayed from 2023 to 2027.
Project Overview: Project U-5732 is a planned conversion of 5.5 miles of U.S. 17 in Hampstead to a “superstreet” with a median and intersection modifications. The stretch of highway is between Washington Acres Road and Sloop Point Loop Road.
Project Cost: $64.6 million
Military Cutoff and Eastwood Interchange
Delayed: Construction is delayed from 2022 to 2023.
Project Overview: Project U-5710 will replace the intersection of Military Cutoff Road and Eastwood Road with an overpass, ramp, and interchange.
Project Cost: $57.3 million
College and Oleander Interchange
Delayed: Right-of-way is delayed from 2022 to 2023; construction is delayed from 2025 to 2026.
Project Overview: Project U-5704 is a planned highway interchange with an overpass and ramps to replace the congested intersection of College Road and Oleander Drive.
Project Cost: $56.4 million
Isabelle Holmes Bridge Flyovers
Delayed: Construction is delayed from 2023 to 2024.
Project Overview: Project U-5731 will construct interchange improvements (a fly-over and a free-flow ramp) at U.S. 421 and the Isabelle Holmes Bridge on Eagles Island.
Project Cost: $33.3 million
Widening South Front Street
Delayed: Right-of-way is delayed from 2023 to 2025 and construction is delayed from 2025 to 2028.
Project Overview: U-5734 will widen a 1-mile section of South Front Street, from Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to Burnett Boulevard, to a multi-lane road.
Project Cost: $27 million
MLK Parkway and College Interchange
Delayed: Right-of-way is delayed from 2022 to 2025 and construction is delayed from 2025 to 2028.
Project Overview: Project U-5881 will replace the intersection of MLK Jr. Parkway and College Road with an overpass and on-ramp interchange.
Project Cost: $26.6 million
Mark Darrough can be reached at Mark@Localvoicemedia.com or (970) 413-3815
