CALABASH – A taller, longer bridge spanning the Calabash River opened Thursday afternoon ahead of schedule, restoring an important coastal corridor and providing a safer evacuation route.
The new bridge on Beach Drive SW (N.C. 179 Business) replaced one built in 1975 that the N.C. Department of Transportation had to close temporarily for several past storms, including Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Ian in 2022. Some of the storms required emergency repairs and additional maintenance.
“This is a critical route for our beach communities, which have endured a detour while the bridge was being reconstructed to modern standards,” said Trevor Carroll, the Department’s Division 3 engineer based in Castle Hayne.
The new bridge rises about 7 feet higher over the river, and is more than twice as long, or nearly the length of two football fields.
“Because making our infrastructure more resilient against future flooding is a goal for our Department, it was important to design and build a new bridge that will better serve and protect this fast-growing area of the county,” Carroll said.
While the new bridge maintains the same number of lanes (two) as the old one, the lanes and paved shoulders are wider, and a multi-use path was built alongside of it to safely accommodate the bicyclists and pedestrians who also want to cross the river. In addition, the new bridge is expected to better aid travelers during an evacuation.
Completion Incentives
NCDOT awarded a nearly $9.6 million contract to Wilmington-based S&C Construction LLC, which began doing preliminary work on the project in July 2023. The contractor closed the road right after Labor Day of that year.
To accelerate the project’s original completion date by six months, NCDOT agreed to pay a $750,000 incentive, if the contractor finished by May 1. Thursday’s opening beat that target by a week ahead of the busy summer tourist season.