Cape Fear Memorial Bridge Replacement Project

NCDOT is considering tolling as one potential funding source for the estimated $1.1 billion project. Wilmington City Council has stated its opposition to tolling the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. 

A toll could turn a trip you already make every day into a new recurring expense. Depending on how often you cross and how the toll is paid, those costs can add up. NCDOT estimates annual commuting-related toll costs of approximately $1,000 for a typical full-time commuter using electronic tolling and approximately $1,500 per driver using bill-by-mail.

Before you go, think about: How often do you cross the river? What would paying for every crossing mean for you?  

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Appendix I: Community Studies Tolling Considerations Memorandum, Section 2.2.2, “Cost Burden Across Income Groups,” pp. 420-421; Section 2.3.2.3, “Impacts on Commuters,” p. 425.

What happens on the bridge doesn't stay on the bridge. 

Both alternatives would change how traffic connects to Wilmington streets and both options would increase traffic the same amount. Each would modify the eastern loop ramps where they connect with Wooster and Dawson streets. Alternative B would make additional changes, removing access at 3rd and 4th streets and assuming a four-lane configuration on 5th Avenue as part of the surrounding roadway network. 

Tolling could create another shift. NCDOT projects that approximately 90% of toll-diverted traffic would use the Isabel Holmes Bridge, increasing average weekday traffic there by approximately 43% by 2030. 

The City's review raises questions about what these changes could mean for traffic on local streets and in neighborhoods beyond the immediate bridge project area. 

Before you go, think about: How could changing bridge access affect the streets you use every day? Where will traffic go, and what could that mean for downtown and surrounding neighborhoods? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Sections 2.2, p. 4, and 2.4, pp. 5-9; Appendix I: Community Studies Tolling Considerations Memorandum, Section 2.3, “Potential Traffic Diversion,” p. 422

For many people, crossing the river isn't optional. NCDOT's tolling analysis acknowledges that a toll could increase the cost of reaching healthcare, employment, and other essential goods and services across the river. 

For people who require frequent medical appointments, specialized care, or hospital-based services, NCDOT specifically notes that those additional transportation costs could be particularly significant for older adults, people with recurring healthcare needs, and households with fewer transportation options. 

Before you go, think about: How often do you depend on access to Wilmington for employment, healthcare, or other everyday needs? What would adding a cost to each of those trips mean for you? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Appendix I: Community Studies Tolling Considerations Memorandum, Sections 2.3.1.1-2.3.1.2, pp. 422-423; 2.3.3.1, pp. 425-426; and 2.3.2.2-2.3.2.3, pp. 424-425; Appendix D: Community Characteristics Report, “Emergency Management Services (EMS) Operations,” p. 269.

What makes Wilmington feel like Wilmington? Residents have already told us that our city's character matters. In fact, preserving local character was one of four major priorities to come out of the Greater Downtown Plan, shaped by thousands of community voices. 

The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge is part of that story. It is North Carolina's first and only vertical-lift bridge and is recognized as a contributing historic resource. But the conversation isn't just about the bridge itself. 

The project reaches directly into historic downtown. The alternatives could change how you get on and off the bridge, where traffic enters downtown and how vehicles move through some of our oldest neighborhoods. Alternative B, in particular, would make significant changes to the ramps and downtown street connections. 

Before you go, think about: What makes Wilmington feel like Wilmington to you? How could each alternative affect the historic character and skyline you value? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Sections 3.2.2, “Cultural Resources,” pp. 28-31, and 3.2.3.1, “Section 4(f),” pp. 22-24; City of Wilmington Greater Downtown Plan. 

Both proposed alternatives would add something the existing bridge lacks: a multi-use path across the Cape Fear River. 

But connectivity doesn't end at the bridge.  

On the Brunswick County side, the proposed path does not connect to an existing bicycle or pedestrian network.

On the Wilmington side, NCDOT's analysis also assumes a four-lane configuration on 5th Avenue. This configuration was replaced by the City’s investment in new bicycle infrastructure.

For people living near the project, the changes would also be heard. NCDOT identified potential traffic noise impacts under both alternatives, with more locations potentially affected under Alternative B. 

Before you go, think about: A new multi-use path could create a connection across the river, but what happens when you get to the other side? How should the project connect with existing streets, bike infrastructure, neighborhoods, and the people who live along them? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Sections 2.4, p. 6; 3.2.4, pp. 24-27; and 3.2.6, p. 29; Appendix D: Community Characteristics Report, p. 269.

The Cape Fear River, Eagles Island, and the surrounding waterway networks are more than the backdrop for this project. They are part of a complex system of wetlands, waterways, plants, and wildlife habitat that could be affected by the bridge and its footprint. 

NCDOT’s Environmental Assessment identifies environmental impacts associated with both alternatives, including impacts to wetlands. The analysis also acknowledges that Alternative B would have a greater impact on wetland areas on Eagles Island than Alternative A. Some environmental impacts would be studied in greater detail later in the process, after an alternative is selected.  

Before you go, think about: What could a larger bridge footprint mean for wetlands, wildlife habitat, water quality, and the Cape Fear River ecosystem? How will those impacts be avoided, minimized, or restored? Could any of the environmental impacts still being studied change how the two alternatives compare? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Sections 3.1, pp. 9-25, and 3.4, “Alternative Comparison Matrix,” Table 14, p. 39; Appendix C: Hydraulic Planning Report, p. 238.

The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge connects more than traffic to Wilmington. It brings customers, workers, visitors, and spending to our city’s businesses and destinations. 

NCDOT’s tolling analysis acknowledges that a toll could lead some people to make fewer non-essential trips across the river, choosing shopping, dining, and services closer to home instead. 

That means a decision about whether a trip to Wilmington is worth the additional cost could also become a decision about where to spend money. 

Before you go, think about: If fewer people cross the river for dinner, shopping, entertainment, or other discretionary trips, what could that mean for Wilmington’s businesses, attractions, and tourism economy? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Appendix I: Community Studies Tolling Considerations Memorandum, Section 2.3.2.2, “Impacts to New Hanover County vs. Brunswick County,” pp. 424-425.

For people living closest to the project, the impacts could be especially personal. 

According to NCDOT’s Environmental Assessment, Alternative B has a much larger property footprint, affecting 63 parcels compared with 22 under Alternative A. Impacts to parcels may vary based on location and proximity to the bridge.

NCDOT also identifies more homes that could experience noise impacts under Alternative B: 102 compared with 49 under Alternative A. 

Both alternatives could also change street access, traffic patterns and views for people living near the bridge. 

Before you go, think about: What could a larger bridge footprint, more traffic, noise or changes in access mean for your home, property and neighborhood? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment, Section 3.2.4, “Traffic Noise,” Tables 7 and 9, pp. 24-26; Section 3.4, “Alternative Comparison Matrix,” Table 14, p. 39.

City staff has identified concerns that are not fully addressed in the Environmental Assessment, including questions about traffic, historic resources and other community impacts. 

It is normal for some analysis to continue as a major transportation project moves forward. The City's question is whether any of the information we don't have yet could change how the two alternatives compare or which one is ultimately selected. 

Before you go, think about this: Do you have enough information to compare the options in front of you? Are there other solutions you think should be considered? 

Source: NCDOT Environmental Assessment and Section 106 Programmatic Agreement materials