Neighbors crowd Leland meeting to hear latest plans on Cape Fear Crossing

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — It’s not every day a huge crowd shows up to an early afternoon meeting at Leland Town Hall, but that was the case Thursday. The big talker was the Cape Fear Skyway.

Most of the people who attended the meeting live in Brunswick Forest, a neighborhood that could potentially be impacted by the crossing.

The plans have been discussed for 26 years, but now the NCDOT is finally in the process of selecting the route and construction start date.

During Thursday’s Leland Transportation Oversight Committee meeting, the board got an update on the project. Residents who attended feel it wasn’t sufficient.

“It was somewhat informative,” Brunswick Forest Resident John Lafakis said. “You only have one representative here that has any say in the ultimate findings. I think they were kinda tipping their hand towards what their thoughts were, the other ones are obviously gonna make a difference.”

Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Director Mike Kozlosky explained that as of right now he has selected a core and has functional designs.

The next steps are to hold public hearings in the spring, and a final merger meeting in the summer, but Lafakis believes that some of the information they provided is outdated.

“[He feels that] there’s a lot of studies that were done but they were done 10-13 years ago, so how valid are they today? The whole complexion of this place has changed in the last 10 years,” Lafakis said.

There are still several routes being considered. The final decision on the project is expected to be made by this summer.