WILMINGTON — After two years of clearing land, laying asphalt, and installing traffic lights, an extension road near a busy intersection is gearing up to open in the new year.
READ MORE: NCDOT proposes new design for Military Cutoff, Eastwood overpass to begin 2026
ALSO: Noticed the clear-cutting on Eastwood? New development and cut-thru road in the works
Once operational, the Drysdale Drive Extension will be a connector between Military Cutoff and Eastwood roads. Originally slated to open in August 2024, the extension is wrapping construction, with anticipation of an early 2025 opening, though North Carolina Department of Transportation did not give the exact date.
Crews have been working on the new quarter-mile, four-lane extension since 2022, grading and paving, and installing storm drainage, utilities, and signals. There will be a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side and an 8-foot multiuse path on the south side.
Motorists will be able to access Drysdale Drive from both Military Cutoff Road near Landfall and Eastwood Road near the Eastport neighborhood. Two additional accessory roads will also connect it to Eastport home development and CenterPoint, a $250-million mixed-use project under construction alongside Drysdale.
The NCDOT awarded the $7.2-million extension road contract to Chatham Civil Contracting, but the funding doesn’t include design, right-of-ways, and construction overhead costs.
“We will have the final number once the project is completed,” NCDOT spokesperson Lauren Haviland told Port City Daily.
A $3.84-million boost came from the state, due to Rep. David Rouzer’s advocacy for the project in 2021. The Drysdale extension is phase one in a larger plan to address traffic at the intersection.
Thirteen right-of-ways have been settled so far for the project, with two claims including condemnation filings that remain in litigation, according to NCDOT. So far, the state transportation department has spent $5.2 million on ROWs.
“Because the two condemnations have not yet been resolved, we do not have an accurate total of right-of-way expenditures,” Haviland said.
Approximately 7,200 cars are expected to pass through the new road extension to help ease congestion in a highly trafficked area. The NCDOT found a decade ago roughly 22,000 vehicles drove on Eastwood Road, while 41,000 traveled along Military Cutoff Road. Those numbers were expected to almost double along Eastwood to 39,000 by 2035 and increase to 64,400 on Military Cutoff.
“This extension will be a primary connection between Eastwood and Military Cutoff when the overpass is constructed,” Haviland said.
The overpass is part of phase two of the NCDOT’s plan, to be built where the traffic light at the Military Cutoff and Eastwood roads intersection is currently. The project was first broached in 2014, with public meetings hosted in 2018, but from 2019 through 2021, the project was put on hold due to NCDOT cash flow issues.
The overpass is anticipated to cost $45 million — up from $25.8 million expected years ago when discussions first came to light. Like the Drysdale Drive extension, the overpass also will be paid for through the NCDOT’s State Transportation Improvement Plan.
Right-of-way acquisitions for the overpass began in summer 2023 and so far NCDOT has spent $1.6 million, though it’s expected to be $16.9 million once complete, with utilities estimated at $4 million, Haviland said. The addresses of the acquisitions were not available by press.
Once complete, the extension and overpass will improve the level grade at the intersection. Both Eastwood and Military Cutoff roads are considered “failing,” with the intersection reaching an “E” level, according to NCDOT’s 2022 analysis. However, without Drysdale Drive, it would downgrade to an “F” by 2026. If the overpass weren’t installed, the intersection would become an “F” by 2031, Haviland said.
When asked about how overpass construction would affect traffic, NCDOT said vehicles will be diverted from the Eastwood and Military Cutoff roads intersection to the new Drysdale Drive Extension. However, a final traffic management plan has yet to be developed.
“Additional maintenance of traffic methods, including pavement widening, lane shifts, temporary signals, etc., are anticipated on this project,” to be released closer to the construction date, Haviland added.
Crews are expected to begin the overpass project in September 2026 and NCDOT expects it will take roughly four years to construct.
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