At the risk of understatement, building a new bridge is complicated. It involves more bureaucracy than almost anything I’ve ever covered. Case in point: 13 state and federal agencies are currently determining what a replacement for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge will look like.
This is the so-called “merger” process, once described to me as “spicy alphabet soup,” with a bunch of state and federal agency acronyms trying to claim a stake and work through issues–NCDOT, FHWA, EPA, NOAA, to name a few.
Issues like clearance, for example.
The current Cape Fear bridge’s lift deck gives it a 135-foot clearance. The replacement option many people have been talking about, one of four NCDOT has considered, is a fixed-height version that also has a 135-foot clearance.
That height is expensive: the 135-foot, fixed-height option would cost well over $400 million, while a 65-foot fixed-height clearance could cost $150 million less.
Given that, it’s not surprising that many–most publicly Travis Gilbert of the Historic Wilmington Foundation–have asked if we really need the taller bridge. More than half of the bridge openings in recent years were for training and maintenance, he said. If it’s opened for actual boats, Gilbert noted most of the time it’s to accommodate pleasure crafts.
A lower, cheaper, bridge would also have less impact on Wilmington’s historic downtown–both in aesthetic terms on the view from historic homes and in the very real physical terms from longer on- and off-ramps. Environmentalists have also noted there would be less impact on Eagles Island on the western bank of the river.
That’s an argument that the State Historic Preservation Office might make as well, along with other environmental and natural resource management agencies.
But then there’s the U.S. Coast Guard, which is traditionally more conservative about existing navigable conditions. Every new bridge is of course different, but if you’re replacing an existing bridge that has a 135-foot clearance, that’s what the Coast Guard will likely look for in the new one.
NCDOT engineer Mason Herndon, who is part of the current merger process, agreed with that assessment, but noted that the Coast Guard is just one of 13 agencies involved in a process he said was “very democratic,” and where, “everybody’s got to give and take.”
For their part, the Coast Guard’s head office in D.C. tells me they have “no official position on the replacement bridge’s height.”
That said, it’s hard to imagine a branch of the United States military not throwing its weight around if its interests run up against the concerns of smaller, state-level agencies.
I drive a hatchback. If I’m merging with a cement truck that wants to go ahead of me, I think we all know who gets the right of way. I think of the fairly brusque approach the federal government took when it told the city of Wilmington it wanted its big brass lanterns back.
We’ll see soon enough how the merger process turns out, as the process of hammering out height and other details starts in April. Herndon said he’s well aware of how important it is to “ease everybody’s minds” about the final decision.
Of course, then they’ll have to figure out how to pay for it. But that’s for another edition of The Dive.
–Benjamin Schachtman
Catch up on an audio conversation on last week’s edition of The Dive here, or contact us with story ideas and feedback at wilmington@theassemblync.com.
Columbus County Housing Boom
Commissioners in Columbus have paved the way for more than 10,000 new homes in the southern part of the county—growth that could bring in 25,000 more residents over the next two decades.
Located at the border with South Carolina and less than an hour from prime beaches, the boom may seem overdue after years of population decline.
But locals have mixed feelings about new neighbors. Some worry new residents will be mostly retirees who don’t add to the workforce. Small business owners both welcome more foot traffic and worry about displacement by big box stores that larger populations may demand.
Ben Rappaport takes us inside the development debate in a piece published in collaboration with the Boarder Belt Independent.
The Next Development Frontier
With 10,000 new homes expected over the next decade, once-rural southern Columbus County is experiencing some growing pains.
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Hate The Game
National housing expert Gregg Colburn said this week that homelessness isn’t caused by what most people assume–concerns like drug addiction or mental illness. The root cause, he said at an event hosted by the Cape Fear Housing Coalition, is the high cost of housing and a shortage of available units.
WHQR’s Kelly Kenoyer summed up his view: “It’s like musical chairs. If 10 people have 10 chairs, then everyone gets a chair. But if one chair is taken away, then the person who broke his ankle and can’t rush to the chair fast enough is out. It’s the broken ankle that made him lose the game, but it’s the game that left him chairless.
Around the Region
Up in Smoke: Enviva, a wood pellet exporter with a terminal at the Port of Wilmington, filed for bankruptcy this week, Greater Wilmington Business Journal reports. It’s unclear whether operations will continue in Wilmington as the company undergoes a financial restructuring.
Rave Reviews: Southern Living’s travel editor visited the region and wrote a glowing recap of her time gallivanting around downtown Wilmington and the beaches.
Growing Pains: While many newcomers were drawn to Leland for its low taxes, residents are now bracing for a proposed nearly 70 percent property tax increase next fiscal year, The StarNews reports. The town says the jump is needed to pay for long-overdue infrastructure projects to accommodate growth.
Rising From the Ashes: The Brunswick County Planning Board OK’d a nearly 3,000-unit mixed-use development in Ash this week, according to the Brunswick Beacon. The plan was initially denied last November, but has been tweaked to add workforce housing and enhanced stormwater capacity.
Around the State
North Carolina Gambles On Sports Betting
Legalized sports betting brings fresh tax revenue—and reports of gambling addiction. Experts say N.C. colleges aren’t ready.
No Safe Haven
As more people move to “climate havens” like Western North Carolina, they are learning nowhere is immune from a changing climate.
The Hunt for Red November
Rachel Hunt sailed to victory in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, but who she will run against in the general is yet to be determined.
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