The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge meeting draws concerns for the future
"No official has ever reached out to us."
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) – The NC Department of Transportation is looking at design plans for a new bridge to replace the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
On Tuesday night, the NCDOT held one of two meetings to get public input on the plans, to hear what the community has to say about the new bridge coming into the area.
However, some residents feel like it’s coming at a cost.
To have something you want to cherish forever, and within the blink of an eye it could be taken away from you, it’s a hard pill to swallow for Elizabeth O’Donnell.
“It’s a historic home. It’s a historic neighborhood- with plaque houses,” says O’Donnell. “I first found out about this back in February. No official has ever reached out to us.”
Her home is up for demolition- depending on what option the NCDOT chooses for the New Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. Most homeowners on O’Donnell’s road are facing the same fate.
“I’ve sent all of the letters they want us to send and I get a stock letter back. ‘We’ll get back to you,’” says O’Donnell.
A meeting at Cape Fear Community College allowed her to ask questions.
“The goal is to not relocate properties; the goal is to put out a new project that will service the public.”
Which, WWAY asked Trace Howell with the DOT.
“The rendering that a lot of folks were able to see online, those are not exact depictions of what the bridge is going to look like. There’s going to be a lot of coordinators with a lot of stakeholders on how that’s going to look,” Howell says.
Right now there are three renderings. Option A is a moveable bridge. B, which will take out O’Donnell’s home, and C are stationary with height differences. Businesses are also in limbo.
“I work with a company called Cape Fear Solar Systems and we’re in the path of alternate A- the moving bridge,” says Robert Parker. A way to move forward is to hopefully make a decision soon but it’s important to hear all the voices on it.
But whichever the DOT chooses, O’Donnell hopes she won’t have a home to lose.
“Knowing that they’re going to take my house, couldn’t there be a personal or human aspect to it,” O’Donnell questioned.
If you want to check out the renderings for yourself and ask questions, another meeting will be at North Brunswick High School on Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm.
