HAMPSTEAD — After beginning construction two years ago on a bypass between Pender and New Hanover counties, the second phase is slated to get underway during the final few months of 2025.
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At last week’s Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting, North Carolina Department of Transportation Division 3 Engineer Trevor Carroll said a $182-million contract has been awarded for the southern portion of the Hampstead Bypass. It will connect N.C. 140 (formerly known as the U.S. 17 Wilmington Bypass) to N.C. 210.
S.T. Wooten will begin this part of the two-phased project by fall, according to NCDOT spokesperson Veronica Newsome, though it can begin as early as the end of August. The company, based out of Wilson, N.C., has been awarded multiple local projects for the state transportation agency in recent years, including for the Gordon Road widening and Brunswick County roadway repaving.
Totaling 12.6 miles once complete, the Hampstead Bypass has been in the works for more than a decade and is on schedule to fully open in 2030. Once completed, it will include an interchange with U.S. 17 Wilmington Bypass and extends northwest to Pender County, past Sidbury Road. From there, the road will turn northeast and continue to a proposed interchange with N.C. 210 to extend northeast and behind the Topsail High campus.
The northern segment, from N.C. 210 to north of Hampstead, has been under construction since 2022. That contract, $182 million, was awarded to Conti Civil LLC, out of Edison, New Jersey. The contractor is constructing a four-lane, 7-mile highway, scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.
“Drainage, grading and paving is being done on the north end,” Newsome indicated, “where it connects to U.S. 17. The contractor is working on embankments, paving and noise walls throughout the project. Most of the drainage work has been completed.”
So far seven of eight culverts have been installed and noise walls are going up behind Topsail High School.
First approved in 2014 to undergo environmental assessments and design reviews, the Hampstead Bypass is aimed to improve congestion among motorists traveling to and from Wilmington and Hampstead, Surf City, Topsail Island and Jacksonville.
Traffic along U.S. Highway 17 has long been a concern in the area, as Hampstead has experienced considerable growth in the last decade. In 2010, its population was just more than 4,000, compared to today which taps out at over 9,400.
Currently, NCDOT 2023 volume maps indicate 46,000 vehicles travel near N.C. 210 and U.S. 17 daily.
The overall estimated cost of the Hampstead Bypass came in at $429 million, according to previous Port City Daily reporting, but has escalated to $502 million since. Port City Daily asked NCDOT what the price increase is attributed to but didn’t hear back by press.
The Hampstead Bypass is funded in the NCDOT’s State Transportation Improvement Program and roughly $19 million was put toward utility relocation costs, with 171 right-of-way acquisitions amounting to around $196 million. Newsome said the price is inclusive of land, relocation benefits, and associated costs with consultants and staff.
All acquisitions for the bypass have been made except for a recently added roundabout at Inland Creek and N.C. 210, she added: “We are waiting on completed design for this area.”
As work progresses, the roundabout could be added to the contract, which in turn would further elevate costs.
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