03/28/2024
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By Charlotte Smith

The Cape Fear River Bridge Replacement Project has been the talk of many concerned motorists. The bridge’s traffic over the Cape Fear River in Elizabethtown on U.S. Highway 701 will be closed soon.

This past Monday, Joy Warren with BladenOnline reported an update from Mr. Ken Clark, District Engineer for NCDOT, about the project. According to Clark, the project is on schedule for May 2024 completion.

Warren’s report states Clark informed the Elizabethtown Town Council that the girders would be set starting May 2nd, and the expected completion date is May 25th if daytime work is utilized. Placement will extend to mid-June if night-time work is utilized.

The NCDOT is evaluating scheduled daily closures from 9 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Special considerations will be to schedule a meeting with the Town, County, and Emergency Response in early April. NCDOT will begin intensive media efforts and contract with Law Enforcement for traffic control. There will be additional message boards to alert drivers.

Andrew Barksdale, Public Relations Officer with NCDOT Divisions 4 & 6, responded to questions about the bridge closing. “These one-hour closures are needed to unload/offload the massive girders that will then be hoisted, using a very large crane, onto the new portion of the bridge being built.” Barksdale continued, “In the event that a fire truck or ambulance needs to cross during these planned one-hour closures, we’ll reopen the bridge just for emergency personnel.”

The plans for the closures of the bridge have not been finalized yet, and no further information is available at this time. Still, Barksdale added, We’ll finalize our plan very soon and announce it to everyone.

Read Warren’s article linked below:

https://bladencounty.org/ncdot-bridge-update-received-by-elizabethtown-town-council/

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