OPERATION GRIDLOCK: Causeway project nears end, impacts being felt
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — As the end nears, the causeway project is showing impacts in the surrounding areas.
In 2011, the widening project on the Causeway was just an idea. In 2014, the NC Department of Transportation began construction on the Causeway leading to two years full of traffic headaches.
“If there is an accident, then I just don’t come over to Wilmington,” Charlynne Caillaud said.
Drivers and town leaders are more than ready for the project to be complete.
“The town of Leland is growing at a phenomenal rate,” Leland Town Manager David Hollis said. “We’re growing about 5-6% a year and that equates to about 1,000 people a year.”
Leland Town Manager David Hollis said they are hoping to see several impacts from the project.
“The road improvement has got to help make Leland more attractive,” Hollis said.
Hollis said they are already starting to see some development.
“The impact of it will improve the traffic situation, so I think that plays into a decision to develop within the town,” Hollis said.
Belville Commissioner Joe Breault agrees.
“I definitely think it’ll be an economic engine for the area,” Breault said.
Breault said the traffic headaches will not entirely end for their side of town.
“On the other side of the bridge on into Leland, It’s a four way highway,” Breault said. “On this side of the bridge, it’s a two lane road.”
That is why he said the next step is working with DOT on another widening project.
“The concern that we have from this side of the causeway and I’m not just speaking for Belville, but all the way down to Southport is the access to 133,” Breault said.
Meanwhile, everyone is just glad the end of the project is finally in sight.
“We’re anxious to see it completed,” Hollis said.
“I’m looking forward to it being over with,” a driver said.
A viewer asked us why it has been so dark on the Causeway. A DOT spokesman said the old lights have been replaced with new ones. He said they are just waiting on a final inspection to turn the power on in the next two weeks.
