Comments closed Oct. 15. NCDOT now chooses between a lift span and a fixed 135-foot Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, with a decision expected in late 2026.

The public comment period on the new Cape Fear Memorial Bridge closed Thursday, Oct. 15. The N.C. Department of Transportation says the comments will feed into its choice of a preferred design, which it expects to make in late 2026.

Updated Oct. 16: The comment period has closed. As of Friday morning, NCDOT had not yet posted its summary of the comments, and the city had not published its formal comments or the other options its design firm studied. We will update this story when either appears.

The deadline was set out on NCDOT’s project comment page for the bridge, project HB-0039.

The two designs

NCDOT is weighing two alternatives, according to its Aug. 14 announcement of the public hearings:

Alternative A Alternative B
Type Movable span Fixed span
Clearance over the river 65 to 135 feet 135 feet
Ships passing Span lifts for tall ships Ships pass without stopping traffic
Other work Trumpet interchange improvements

NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have approved an environmental assessment that sets out the expected effects of both designs. The full document is linked from the comment page.

Why the bridge is being replaced

The 0.66-mile bridge carries U.S. 17, U.S. 76 and U.S. 421 across the Cape Fear River between New Hanover and Brunswick counties. It opened in 1969 as a four-lane steel lift bridge. NCDOT’s project page says it is safe but “functionally obsolete,” and is reaching the end of its life.

NCDOT also says:

  • repairs and bridge lifts cause congestion and make travel times unreliable
  • the bridge has no bicycle or pedestrian lanes
  • the corridor carries freight trucks to and from the Port of Wilmington

The project is estimated to cost $1.1 billion. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $242 million grant toward it in 2024, according to NCDOT.

Where the city stands

City leaders took their concerns to Raleigh on Sept. 21. Mayor Bill Saffo, Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Spears and council member Cassidy Santaguida met NCDOT Secretary Daniel Johnson, according to a city news release.

The city’s concerns about Alternative B, as listed in the release, are:

  • possible effects on the historic downtown
  • moving the main downtown corridor from Third Street to Fifth Avenue
  • more properties affected
  • greater floodplain, wetland and noise effects

The release says the city has hired a design firm to study other options, including traffic effects. It said it planned to send proposals to NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, and formal comments on the environmental assessment, before the deadline.

What happens next

NCDOT’s timeline on the comment page is:

  • Late 2026: a preferred design is chosen
  • Winter 2027: approval of a finding of no significant impact
  • Right-of-way purchases and construction: dates not yet set

NCDOT says it will post a summary of the public comments on the project website. It notes that future dates may change.

What it means for you

The formal comment period is over, but the plans are still public:

  • Online: the NCDOT project page still carries the maps, the visualizations and the environmental assessment, and is where the comment summary will appear
  • Email: NCDOT’s project inbox is CapeFearMemorialBridge@publicinput.com
  • Read the plans in person: the environmental assessment is at the New Hanover County Public Library’s Main Branch, 230 Grace St., and with maps at the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, 525 N. Fourth St.

For other work on the bridge and Wilmington’s main roads, see our road construction and closures page.