New way to get off Oak Island coming

Oak Island visitors and residents will soon have a new way to get on and off the island.

The four-mile, $36 million project was approved by the State Board of Transportation Thursday.

The bridge and roadway will start at Beach Road and will end at Highway 211 and Midway Road.

Engineers of the project say a new way to access the island will help traffic flow and improve residents’ safety, especially during hurricane season.

DOT engineer Wayne Currie said, “It will eliminate a lot of the traffic congestion on Highway NC 133 and will also help immensely with hurricane evacuations.”

Currie says construction could begin as soon as next month. It should be completed by December of 2009.