ONLY ON 3: Law enforcement discusses complaints on the causeway

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Traffic concerns on the causeway have Brunswick County public safety officials talking.

Law enforcement agencies from across the county met this morning in Leland about some complaints from drivers.

Whether it is because of congestion, an accident, or a ticket, drivers on the causeway sit in traffic almost every day.

“Traffic is normally backed up to the second Leland exit,” driver Eric Webb said.

Webb said sometimes it causes drivers to do the unthinkable.

“People pass going down the side of the road, running through the grass, or there is road rage,” Webb said.

North Carolina Department of Transportation Engineer Wanda James said while the causeway project is on schedule, some of the drivers out there are affecting her crew members.

“Every time that they are distracted, they are putting one of my guys or one of my construction workers in jeopardy,” James said.

That is why the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office has two deputies assigned to patrol that area in case of an accident that may cause more traffic for drivers like Webb.

“You can have an accident on the opposite side of the road and traffic will be backed up on the other side,” Webb said.

First Sergeant Pope with The Highway Patrol said that is where all public safety officials need to improve.

“I think the public has to be a stakeholder with us and maybe that’s where we have not done as well is educating,” Pope said.

He said not every accident can just be marked and moved.

“I know it’s not the popular decision, because the downside is when we’re in the construction zone, we have no way to re-route what’s already in there,” Pope said.

Pope said drivers may think of it differently if the victim in the accident were a family member.

“While you want to get to work on time, I’d be late every day if it were my mother,” Pope said.

Pope said that is why drivers, law enforcement and EMS need to slow down, pay attention, and work together.

As for parts of the causeway project, the DOT said they are hoping to finish the Diverging Diamond Interchange on Village Road at the end of March or early April.

Tomorrow in a special report on WWAY at 11, we’ll go more in depth about the concerns on the causeway and show you what some of those drivers are doing on the roads and how law enforcement is dealing with it.