Andrew Barksdale with the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced more details this week about the new US Highway 701 bridge over the Cape Fear River in Elizabethtown. Last Thursday, Eddie Madden, Town of Elizabethtown Manager, announced his office received confirmation by NCDOT officials that the decision to replace the Cape Fear River Bridge is imminent.
Barksdale explained the replacement plan, “We reviewed all of our options and determined it would be better to replace the bridge, rather than simply repair it. We are hoping to receive federal approval soon to replace these 2 bridges (one is southbound, and the other is northbound) with a four-lane bridge.”
He added, “As soon as we get the Federal Highway Administration’s approval, we will move quickly to design it and to award a construction contract. We don’t yet have a timeline for construction or cost. We hope to get federal funding to help us replace this bridge.”
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This week Barksdale confirmed, US 701 is designated as a bicycle route, and the new bridge will include 4 feet on each side for bicyclists to use, in addition to having 4 feet of paved shoulder on each side.
He said, “Thus, there will be 8 feet of pavement on either side outside of the vehicle travel lanes.”
Last week Barksdale stated, “Assuming we can proceed with our plan, we would maintain two-way traffic on 701 throughout construction. We would build part of the new bridge, shift traffic onto it, then build the rest of the new bridge.”
According to Barksdale, the new construction plan lays out a four-lane bridge verses two identical two-lane bridges that are currently in place over the river.
Barksdale said, “A four-lane bridge has several advantages over having 2 bridges side by side, as we have now, including it’s less expensive, less potential for debris building, less maintenance costs and can reduce the potential for future scour – flooding of soil around the bridge bents or columns.”
The current southbound bridge in use is safe for traffic, according to Barksdale.
The southbound U.S. 701 bridge was built in 1957 and the northbound bridge was built in 1986. Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence caused huge debris piles under the bridges. The debris piles have been removed. The northbound bridge has been closed since 2019. More information will be published as soon as it is made available.
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