The North Carolina Department of Transportation is moving forward with two proposed alternatives to replace the 57-year-old bridge, which has been determined to be functionally obsolete by NCDOT.
The proposed designs include Alternative A — a 65-foot moveable-span bridge that could be raised to 135 feet — and Alternative B — a fixed, 135-ft span bridge — that wouldn’t need to be lifted for boats or ships passing through the Cape Fear River.
An Environmental Assessment of both bridge alternatives by the U.S. Department of Transportation, NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration was released mid-August. The results of the EA prompted pushback not only from residents of New Hanover and Brunswick counties — the two areas directly impacted by the replacement — but from the City of Wilmington, and most recently, county leadership as well.
A letter addressed to U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Tedd Budd and Congressman David Rouzer, cosigned by all five county commissioners, requested an updated study of the current and future navigational needs of the Cape Fear River from CFMB north to the Dan Cameron Bridge.
A study conducted by federal authorities, including input from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Coast Guard, determined the need for a 135-foot clearance in 1996. In 2025, the USACE determined that a replacement for the CFMB should have that clearance as well. That decision has been a major factor in the high cost of the proposed replacement.
The letter points to the decreased need for the current bridge's full clearance height.
The letter states: “NCDOT conducted a Navigational Impact Report as part of its process to replace the bridge. That navigational report, however, primarily examined the potential impact the bridge could have on access through the waterways and did not provide an assessment of the waterways' actual navigational needs.”
“That report further found that vessels using this stretch of river do not require clearance necessitating raising the span; bridge openings declined from 188 in 2019 to 63 in 2025.”
The commissioners asked for a new analysis of the navigation channel, and went on to state in the letter that the assessment should focus on current and future needs rather than an analysis conducted about 30 years prior.
Commissioners also requested additional funding to support the project, to use along with the $242 million Large Bridge Federal grant that Tillis, Rouzer and Budd championed, according to the letter, and was awarded a few years ago.
The estimated costs for the replacement options are between $1.03 billion and $1.11 billion. The Large Bridge Grant would cover a portion of the cost, along with $85 million in funding from NCDOT. However, the bridge would likely be tolled in order to recoup what’s spent in the process.
The commissioners went on to provide further support for their request, noting the county’s comprehensive development plan – which calls for low-impact development when possible, especially in this case, to help preserve undeveloped land near the waterway. That includes directly purchasing roughly 30 acres of riverfront property.
Commissioners also acknowledged that the $242 million grant has key deadlines, including having funding obligated for a final preferred bridge option by the end of September 2027. However, if that deadline can't be met, the letter suggests a possible extension.
“We believe a navigational needs assessment would not conflict with the progress made toward the bridge's replacement and are supportive of project timelines to meet deadlines to protect federal investments that have been committed,” the commissioners wrote. “We would further support an extension of the Large Bridge Project program to accomplish such an assessment.”
If the navigational analysis that the county is requesting would disrupt the project’s timeline, then they’d opt to support Alternative A due to it having “fewer impacts on neighboring properties, the bridge's new footprint, and the viewshed.”
If it’s determined that 135-foot clearance is needed to support the federal project, commissioners added that “it is appropriate for the federal government to provide greater cost-sharing to replace the bridge if it is confirmed that this approach is still most appropriate.”
The commissioner's letter comes on the heels of NCDOT’s public hearings earlier this week, where members of the public pushed back against tolling the bridge. They also requested that the agencies moving this project forward consider more cost-effective options before the end of the public comment period on October 15.
The public comment period remains open until October 15. New Hanover and Brunswick county residents can email comments to capefearmemorialbridge@publicinput.com.
Click below to view the commissioners' full letter:
