New Military Cutoff Extension opens in Wilmington to motorists

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — All roads lead to Wilmington and the new Military Cutoff Extension

The Military Cutoff Extension is finally open for drivers in Wilmington. The four mile road runs from Market Street to I-140. The project began construction in 2017 and cost a little more than $95 million.

New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise says he’s happy to see some help with the traffic.

“I keep telling people that help is on the way. This is some serious help, and it’s not just on the way, it’s here. There’s a lot more that’s on the way and I gotta tell you I’m excited to go ahead and drive this road,” said Scalise.

The NCDOT held a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the road. Leaders from both New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington spoke during the ceremony.

City Councilman Luke Waddell is excited for all the drivers it will help.

“I’m excited for the community; I’m excited for folks that visit the community. Locals, business owners, I mean everybody’s going to get to experience it. It will make getting around a lot smoother, safer and easier,” said Waddell.

NCDOT Engineer Chad Kimes says while the opening of the extension is great, there is still more to be done.

“This is only step one, we’ve got two more projects just to the north of this. Very excited about once all this is completed because once again, the main purpose is to get from Hampstead to Wilmington in under 20 minutes,” said Kimes.