City of Wilmington seeking federal grant to replace aging Water Street bulkhead
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Along the riverfront in downtown Wilmington, there’s something near the water’s edge most of us don’t think about.
It’s called a bulkhead, and they are battered by strong storms like hurricanes and boats creating wakes that would otherwise threaten the downtown.
One section along Water Street has been there for nearly 60 years and is showing its age.
“We did repairs this past year, but prior to the repairs, the bulkhead had holes in it, had severe section loss or the material that is there now is far thinner than the material that was there before,” said Justin Carter, the city of Wilmington’s director of design and construction.
Wilmington city staff held an open house on Wednesday night at the Skyline Center to allow the public to learn more about a potential replacement project.
The 500-foot section is where the US Coast Guard cutter Diligence used to dock.
Back in 2023, the city of Wilmington purchased the property.
Carter said replacing the bulkhead is critical.
“If this wall was to fail, it would be absolutely catastrophic. We’d start losing material and it would start getting back towards Water Street, especially as we look at that Princess and Water Street intersection, the walls really close right there, right? We also have a lot of utilities there so we look at water lines, sewer lines, electric lines, I mean, that’s critical infrastructure for all of the businesses down here.”
To offset costs, the city will apply for an economic development federal grant that could cover 80% of the total cost, estimated to be about $17.5 million dollars.
To support the application, the city is collecting letters signed by residents, like Mike and Patricia Brophy, who live in River Place Condos, which is near the bulkhead.
They said the replacement would make the riverwalk an even more enjoyable place to spend time and to protect public and private property.
“I think it sounds like a great, environmentally friendly plan to restore something that definitely needs to be replaced,” said Patricia.
“And preserve the downtown and make it viable for the Riverwalk to extend on that period,” said Mike.
A resolution for the city council to support the project is on the agenda for their April 7th meeting, the same day as the deadline to submit a letter.
If the bulkhead project is supported by the city council and once funding is secured, Carter said it could take 3 to 4 years to build.
