New Hanover County asks Congress for new Cape Fear Memorial Bridge navigation study, more funding

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County commissioners are asking Congress to authorize a new study of navigation needs along the Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear rivers and provide additional federal funding for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement.

In a Sept. 17 letter, all five commissioners asked U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd and U.S. Rep. David Rouzer to support an updated assessment of current and future navigation needs north of the bridge. The board also requested additional federal cost-sharing for the replacement project.

The request comes as the North Carolina Department of Transportation considers two alternatives for replacing the bridge. Alternative A would have a movable span with 65 feet of clearance when closed and 135 feet when raised. Alternative B would have a fixed span with 135 feet of clearance. NCDOT estimates the alternatives at between $1.03 billion and $1.11 billion.

The project has already received a $242 million federal Large Bridge Project grant.

In their letter, commissioners questioned whether the 135-foot clearance requirement reflects the river’s current and future navigation needs.

The existing Cape Fear Memorial Bridge has 65 feet of vertical clearance when closed and can be raised to 135 feet. The county said the need for 135 feet of clearance stems from a 1996 federal authorization for a 38-foot-deep channel north of the bridge.

The board wrote that NCDOT’s more recent Navigation Impact Report primarily examined the potential effect of the bridge on vessels using the waterways rather than assessing the waterways’ actual navigational needs.

Commissioners also pointed to a decline in bridge openings, writing that the number fell from 188 in 2019 to 63 in 2025.

The county is asking for a new assessment focused on current and future economic activity. Commissioners cited the county’s conservation efforts north of the bridge and said waterways in that area are shallower than the river channel south of the bridge.

The board said it does not believe another navigation assessment would interfere with the bridge replacement timeline and would support an extension of the federal Large Bridge Project program if necessary to complete the review.

However, commissioners said that if another navigation study would harm the project’s timeline or progress, they support moving forward with the 65-foot movable-span alternative. The board cited NCDOT’s environmental assessment, saying that option would have fewer impacts on neighboring properties, the bridge’s footprint and views.

Commissioners also argued that if federal requirements continue to make a 135-foot clearance necessary, the federal government should provide a larger share of the project’s cost.

“We therefore respectfully request that Congress authorize a navigational assessment that would provide a complete picture of the current and future navigational needs of the Cape Fear River and Northeast Cape Fear River and appropriate additional cost-sharing funds for the bridge’s replacement,” commissioners wrote.

NCDOT eliminated a previously considered 100-foot fixed-span alternative after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Coast Guard determined a replacement bridge would need at least 135 feet of vertical clearance.

The department’s public comment period on the two remaining alternatives runs through Oct. 15.