'Time for a 21st century bridge': Leaders celebrate funding boost for new Cape Fear bridge

Gov. Roy Cooper joined local, state and federal leaders in Wilmington on Wednesday to celebrate the recently announced $242 million in federal grant funding that will help cover the cost of replacing the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.

Last week, Cooper announced the receipt of the discretionary grant , which is funded by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The steel vertical-lift bridge was built in 1969 and recently underwent a preservation project that disrupted traffic in and around Wilmington for months.

“It’s a significant day in the quest to replace the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, which is a lifeline for Wilmington and southeastern North Carolina,” Cooper said Wednesday. “This bridge is a critical connector, but long-term, its useful life is coming to an end. And this community has recognized that harsh reality and has gone to work.”

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo called the announcement “historic.” The bridge, he said, is a “vital piece of transportation infrastructure.”

“For over 54 years, this has connected Wilmington to the surrounding region, our state, as well as our nation,” Saffo said.

The bridge sees more than 65,000 vehicle trips daily, Saffo said, and the still increasing demand has leaders thinking about its replacement. This award will cover about half the cost of the replacement, which is estimated at around $485 million.

“A project of this magnitude is beyond what one person or one party or one level of government can do,” Saffo said. “It takes all of us working together – from here to Raleigh to Washington, working across party lines – because we cannot reach across this river without reaching across the aisle.”

Joey Hopkins, secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation, said raising the remaining funds necessary to replace the bridge remains a top priority for state and local leaders.

Cooper said North Carolina will receive around $9.3 billion in federal dollars for over 439 projects, to invest in bridges, roads, public transportation, internet and more infrastructure.

At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, said the Biden administration's $5 billion investment in 13 major bridges across the country – including the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge - represents the singles biggest investment in the country’s bridges since the Eisenhower administration.

“Today’s news is great news for everyone who drives, walks, bicycles, takes the bus to work or anyone who buys anything in America,” he said, noting that the project will not only make the aging crossings safer for millions of people, but iron out supply chain bottlenecks that impact wide swathes of the economy.

Buttigieg added that another advantage of the program is that the awards allow states to redirect their scarce dollars to solving other infrastructure deficiencies rather than dedicating them to single, big-ticket projects like a large bridge replacement. Among the reasons a replacement of the Memorial Bridge has taken so long to come to fruition is because of the projected high price tag, which would eat up much of the money the DOT would have available for other projects around Wilmington and the state.

Shailen Batt, head of the Federal Highway Administration, was also on the call and joined Gov. Roy Cooper in Wilmington on Wednesday to make the formal announcement of the $242 million grant award to the NCDOT, said the investments represent a “golden age of infrastructure” in the nation’s future.

“… It’s time for a 21 ^st century bridge,” Batt said Wednesday.

Representatives from Wilmington, New Hanover County, Leland, Belville, Brunswick County and other municipalities were also in attendance at Wednesday’s event.

Reach reporter Jamey Cross at jbcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: 'Time for a 21st century bridge': Leaders celebrate funding boost for new Cape Fear bridge