This week, a group of organizations called on Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis and Congressman David Rouzer to request a reevaluation of federal requirements driving the high cost — and likely tolling — of a replacement for the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
The Alliance for Cape Fear Trees was joined by Cape Fear River Watch, North Carolina Coastal Federation, Eagles Island Nature Park, Cape Fear Sierra Club, Save Sledge Forest, and the League of Women Voters of the Lower Cape Fear.
The group is asking the federal delegation to push the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its requirement that a replacement for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge have a 135-foot vertical clearance. They noted both that the height requirement has limited design options — and that it’s based on assumptions about industrial activity north of the current CFMB that could have negative environmental impacts.
The requirement, established by the Army Corps along with the U.S. Coast Guard, is based on data from the 1990s. Critics have said that paints an outdated picture of the region, noting that there is no longer much industrial activity north of the bridge, citing limited use of the current bridge’s lift section, which has mainly opened for recreational vessels. They’ve also noted the channel north of the CFMB is not dredged to the depth required by larger vessels (and is not included in the current harbor dredging project, which could stall over environmental concerns). Additionally, local governments, including New Hanover County, have expressed increased desire to preserve greenspace in the area, including a purchase of 30 waterfront acres on the western side of the Cape Fear River late last year.
The current height requirement is a major factor in the estimated cost of a new bridge, over a billion dollars. Given its current financial restrictions, even with a $242-million federal grant, NCDOT has said it cannot fund a new bridge without tolls — an option that has been broadly unpopular across the political spectrum and on both sides of the river.
Related: A Bridge to Sell You (Sunday Edition)
The elected officials of Leland, Wilmington, and New Hanover County have all unanimously asked the region’s federal delegation to push the Army Corps for a new study of the navigation channel. The county has also asked, if the channel requirements can’t be changed, that the federal government provide additional funding — since it's federal interests being served by the 135-foot requirement.
In addition to funding concerns and objections to the impact of NCDOT’s current two proposed designs on historic properties in downtown Wilmington, environmental groups have also raised issues with the current plans.
“For us, this is also about the future of the sensitive wetlands, forests, and riverfront north of the Memorial Bridge,” the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees (ACFT) wrote in a post online. “Maintaining an expectation of deep-draft commercial navigation upstream could preserve pressure for future dredging, shoreline alteration, and industrial development in environmentally sensitive areas.
ACFT pointed to “Research led by UNCW scientists has also found evidence that dredging accelerates saltwater intrusion, contributing to changes in freshwater tidal wetlands, tree death, and the formation of ‘ghost forests.’”
The specific mechanism for reviewing the navigation channel specifications is known as Section 216, part of the Flood Control Act of 1970. It authorizes the Army Corps to review projects when physical or economic conditions have changed
significantly — as opponents of current plans have noted — and make a recommendation to Congress.
ACFT also posted an online form for residents who want to ask their federal delegation to request a review of the channel requirements.
