Traffic around the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge is likely to be a frustrating challenge beginning Monday and for the weeks ahead, as contract crews work to replace the grid deck and its support beams, known as stringers.
Both of the bridge’s eastbound lanes are now set to close at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29. The closure was originally planned for Sunday evening but delayed because of forecast rain. The closure is expected to last through March 31.
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Westbound lanes will not be closed during this period.
Drivers should instead take the Isabel Holmes Bridge, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and College Road or Interstate 140. The North Carolina Department of Transportation said it will use message boards to alert drivers to the optimal route. Officials also posted maps of detour routes online.
NCDOT said it plans to have all lanes of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge open to traffic for the Azalea Festival April 1-8. The contractor plans to then continue work on April 9, closing the westbound lanes. Officials said the contractor is “working under an aggressive schedule.”
Some city intersections to close
Officials said Friday that some downtown Wilmington traffic patterns will temporarily change this weekend to help ease congestion during preservation work on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
City officials asked NCDOT to place barricades on Third Street median crossovers at the intersections with Queen, Church, Nun and Orange streets. The barricades to be in place at 8 a.m. Saturday will prohibit left turns for drivers on Third Street and will redirect the side-street traffic into turning right onto Third Street. Drivers needing to make a left turn at one of these streets will need to go to the next traffic signal on Third Street.
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Officials said the intersections will remain in this pattern until the preservation project is complete.
