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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE: Updates, resources, and context

$3.25 million to go to transportation safety and improvements in Wilmington area

Crosswalk in Wilmington.
Grace Vitaglione
/
WHQR
Crosswalk in Wilmington.

The Board of the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization awarded the money on Oct. 26 in grants from federal funds to organizations around the region for transportation projects, like pedestrian crosswalks and traffic lights.

Most of the projects are currently proposals. The funding is planned for design and construction, but the needs may fluctuate depending on the process. All the entities are providing 20% of the project costs.

The Town of Leland received over $666,000 towards designing and constructing a pedestrian crossing across Ocean Hwy East at the intersection with Olde Waterford Way/Ploof Road SE.

New Hanover County received over $460,000 to build a multi-use path in Monkey Junction along the east side of Carolina Beach Road near the Walmart Shopping Center. This is an extension of an existing project.

The City of Wilmington received over $970,000 for a traffic signal at South 3rd Street and Ann Street. The city applied for the grant to do so after residents expressed safety concerns.

The Town of Wrightsville Beach received over $269,000 for a bike lane on either side of Causeway Drive and two crosswalks on Old Causeway Drive. They also plan to mark a route from West Salisbury Street to Causeway Drive for bicyclists.

The NC Department of Transportation received over $542,000 for a traffic signal at South 3rd Street and Orange Street.

Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority received $339,000 for transportation amenities like transit shelters and benches, but the locations are not finalized.

Grace Vitaglione is a multimedia journalist, recently graduated from American University. I’m attracted to issues of inequity and my reporting has spanned racial disparities in healthcare, immigration detention and college culture. In the past, I’ve investigated ICE detainee deaths at the Investigative Reporting Workshop, worked on an award-winning investigative podcast and produced student-led video stories.