NCDOT gives update on Cape Fear Memorial Bridge repairs as work on deck begins

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — We’re now several weeks into the repair work being done on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.

And the NC Department of Transportation held a press conference on Wednesday to give an update.

According to the NCDOT, work on the metal grid deck of the bridge began Monday, February 12th.

The first few weeks of work involved preparing materials for that work.

Along with the deck, stringers, or steal beams used to support the deck, are also being replaced.

12 bays of deck need to be replaced, with each expected to take around 4 days to complete.

NCDOT resident engineer Joshua Pratt said these next few days of work will help determine the project’s rate of completion.

“It’s a very repetitive work so we expect the first bay to sort of be the slowest one as they’re figuring out the process and then as they move on, they’ll kind of figure out their actual rate of production and that may adjust what their schedule is,” Pratt said.

According to division maintenance engineer Trevor Carroll, the biggest traffic surprise the DOT has had to deal with was a big increase in people using Castle Hayne Road off of 140.

Carroll said while the DOT is adjusting traffic signals to help ease traffic delays, drivers coming through Wilmington should continue to expect a longer-than-normal commute.

“Extra travel time in any part of Wilmington, some of those travel times, some of those additional travel times are as low as 4 minutes but again, in general, its like an additional 20-minute travel time,” Carroll said.

The 20-minute average is based on a travel time taken before work started, with the DOT driving from Leland to the intersection of MLK and College Rd.