WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — A committee met for the first time this week to plan for ramifications of three upcoming bridge replacement projects to take place successively in Wrightsville Beach. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is applying for a federal grant to help cover the project’s $70 million estimated cost.
READ MORE: NCDOT funds $70M for 3 Wrightsville Beach bridge replacements starting 2028
Wrightsville Beach’s South Banks Channel Bridge and two Salisbury Street bridges — all built in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s — are nearing the end of their usable life expectancy, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. They are slated to be replaced beginning in 2028, with each bridge anticipated to take two years to construct, meaning completion could be by 2034.
The Wrightsville Beach Three Bridge Replacement Committee met Monday to discuss preparations, including the impact it will have on emergency services, while also including traffic and economic impacts on businesses and residents.
Chair Neal Andrew noted the committee’s role is not to decide specifics of the bridge construction, which is the position of the NCDOT.
“We’re here to try to come up with as much information as we can to help them plan,” Andrew said Monday.
Mayor Pro Tem Hank Miller — one of the committee’s eight members — likened the group to the Olympic committee. He said, similar to preparing for the impact of the major sporting event taking place in Wrightsville Beach, their role is to consider all potential scenarios before the replacements.
“If the Olympics are coming to Wrightsville Beach, what are we doing?” he asked. “Somebody asked me the other day, had we done an analysis on an active shooter. You know an active shooter at Wrightsville Beach today would be bad, but an active shooter with one bridge might even be different.”
(Wrightsville Beach did have an active shooter situation take place on Scotch Bonnet Lane in August last year, which led to a police chase down Eastwood Road to Market Street, where officers shot and killed the suspect.)
Miller described the goal of the committee to plan for extreme scenarios and on everyday impacts, to ensure no potential issue is overlooked. The committee will give recommendations to the town board of aldermen and communicate its findings with staff and residents.
The bridge replacements are anticipated to require right-of-way acquisitions — referring to properties NCDOT deems essential to its projects. The acquisition process is expected to begin in 2026 before bridge closures and construction will commence two years later.
NCDOT communications officer Lauren Haviland told Port City Daily the agency is still identifying the exact impacts and potential properties included in right-of-way needs. The committee agreed to reach out to merchants to understand its anticipated effect on business, including any potential condemnations in the right-of-way process.
In addition to $70 million already identified for the projects in NCDOT’s state bridge fund — set aside each budget cycle to cover bridges with the most critical needs — the agency is applying for grants through the USDOT’s Bridge Investment Program. The Wrightsville Beach bridges are in the USDOT grant’s “other than large” category because the replacements are expected to total under $100 million (there are also planning level projects and projects more than $100 million categories for the grant).
PCD asked Haviland for more details on the most recent cost estimate and the breakdown of the bridge’s funding sources, but she said NCDOT had nothing more to add at this time.
On Wednesday, the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization passed a resolution in support of the NCDOT’s application for federal grants to fund…
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