Drawbridge or fixed span? Wilmington council approves comments on Cape Fear Memorial Bridge

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington City Council unanimously approved comments Wednesday on a proposed agreement related to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement project, while continuing discussions over the bridge’s future design and its impact on surrounding communities.

The debate remains centered on whether to replace the existing bridge with a 135-foot drawbridge or a fixed-span bridge, with both options carrying potential impacts for downtown traffic and Wilmington’s historic district.

Before the vote, council members heard presentations from the city’s planning director and historic preservation manager. The adopted comments recommend that the City of Wilmington become a concurring party in the project and ask the Federal Highway Administration to extend the timeline for the project’s Large Bridge Investment Program grant.

Council member David Joyner expressed frustration with the lengthy planning process and what he described as increasing bureaucracy.

“We keep getting further away from the locality. We keep getting further away from the people who are going to be using the bridge, from the people who live in the neighborhood that’s going to get torn up to build the bridge,” Joyner said. “It’s taken so long that if they’re just going to tell us how to do it, can they at least do it timely?”

If approved, the grant extension would allow additional time to complete an environmental impact study covering a larger area surrounding both proposed bridge alternatives.

The Wilmington City Council unanimously approved the comments, which will now be forwarded as part of the ongoing federal review process.