WILMINGTON — As the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge preservation project wraps up its first week of closing eastbound traffic into New Hanover County, law enforcement is reminding commercial trucks to follow appropriate detour routes.
READ MORE: Roughly 500 trucks will detour to S. College Road during 5-month bridge closure
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has set up detours for drivers traveling along U.S. 74 from Brunswick into New Hanover counties to take either I-140 or the Isabel Holmes Bridge. Commercial trucks that cross Isabel Holmes are instructed to avoid Third Street, as it’s against city ordinance.
Roughly 300 to 700 trucks travel into Wilmington daily and normally exit the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge onto north Front Street to travel up to Burnett Boulevard to reach the ports. However, NCDOT has requested commercial trucks drive Isabel Holmes to Martin Luther King Parkway to South College Road instead.
In November the North Carolina State Ports Authority executive director, Brian Clark, requested Wilmington City Council for trucks to use Third Street. He said it would save 5 miles and result in drivers encountering eight fewer traffic signals than using South College Road.
Since 2013, there have been “no through truck” restrictions in place on Third Street for vehicles with a gross weight in excess of 10,000 pounds. NCDOT offered to cover costs of damage to repair Third Street if the regulation was lifted in the next four months, as two lanes remain shuttered on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge while it undergoes repairs on its riding deck. But the city declined.
Drivers that don’t follow the route face a citation, though none have been issued yet, according to Lt. Greg Willett with the Wilmington Police Department.
“Due to the nature of things and obvious adjustments southeastern NC is having to make including commercial drivers delivering the goods we all enjoy, it is more about education and getting information out for the time being,” he wrote to PCD in an email Friday. “That said I do not have a hard date on enforcement or the end of the information period.”
He added WPD is working with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol on ensuring it’s safe on Third Street for heavily congested traffic. Though enforcement could ramp up if operators of commercial motor vehicles continue to attempt the route. Right now, it’s “very fluid,” Willett said, “by necessity.”
“We still have our daily activities and duties to perform as a police department and staffing levels to maintain,” he added. “As always balancing resources to make sure citizens needs are met is a constant at WPD. So we will continue to work with all other law enforcement agencies and make any needed adjustments.”
The WPD also reminds truck operators using GPS systems to ensure the navigation is programmed properly as a commercial vehicle.
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