At Monday’s Wilmington City Council agenda meeting, councilmember Salette Andrews put forward a resolution to have council formally support a bridge replacement with a 100-foot fixed span bridge.
That resolution brought to light some interesting information: that a 100-foot span isn’t actually a possible option, and instead is a placeholder while federal and state agencies study the replacement.
Andrews put forward her resolution at the Tuesday night council meeting, after several residents of historic downtown Wilmington spoke passionately about protecting their homes from destruction. But the resolution didn’t receive any support, largely due to worries that it would endanger a federal grant that will help prevent the replacement bridge from being tolled.
Mayor Bill Saffo spoke at length about the need to give flexibility to federal agencies in order to maintain funding for the bridge.
"I think it's a pretty good chance that it will be tolled if 100% of the $242 million [federal grant] goes away,” he said, referencing a grant NCDOT received that is meant to cover half the cost of the replacement bridge.
As first reported by Port City Daily, the grant is currently "paused." NCDOT has since confirmed with WHQR that all federal Department of Transportation grants are paused due to a February 26 executive order, which directs Elon Musk's DOGE and federal agency heads to conduct a 30-day review.
"We are working with our federal partners to determine when the grant for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge could move forward," according to an NCDOT spokesperson.
After a lengthy speech in which Saffo discussed the challenges that ultimately stopped the Skyway bridge project from being built across the Cape Fear River in 2019, Saffo put forward his own resolution.
"The resolution of the Wilmington city council to support the urging of NCDOT to explore all practical alternatives to prevent impacts to homes, businesses and historic structures in replacing the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge," he said.
Andrews ultimately moved in favor of the mayor’s resolution, and council voted unanimously to support it.
