Businesses prepare for Cape Fear Memorial Bridge repairs and its potential impact

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — While repair work on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge begins Thursday night, businesses in downtown Wilmington are also preparing for the potential ways they’ll be affected by the work.

Terry Espy is the president of MoMentum Companies and said the Downtown Business Alliance and Wilmington Downtown Incorporated have met to discuss ways to bring people downtown while the repair work is going on.

“You know, they’re loyal to individual owners more so than to corporate,” Espy said. “We’re going to see them downtown. It’s gonna be a little more complicated but we have faith that what we’ve got to offer over here is going to continue luring people across that bridge.”

While crews work overnight for the next two weeks, one lane will remain open on the bridge. but once this preliminary work is finished, both eastbound lanes into Wilmington will be closed starting on January 28th and will not reopen until the end of March.

The Bryand Gallery’s production manager, Ian Leatherwood, said the timing of the repairs couldn’t be better for businesses.

“Fortunately it is in the slower part of the season for a lot of the businesses here downtown,” Leatherwood said. “I mean, its the January, February, March dipoff. So hopefully that if they get everything done on time, the businesses won’t be affected for an extended amount of period.”

But once the eastbound lanes are finished, the bridge will be fully open for the North Carolina Azalea Festival.

Work on the westbound lanes heading out of Wilmington will then start in April and be finished by May.

As for the preliminary work, one lane in each direction will be closed starting at 7 o’clock each night.

The lanes will reopen to traffic by 5 a.m. the next day.

The DOT plans to hold a news conference later this month before the eastbound lanes shut down.