WILMINGTON – The N.C. Department of Transportation has completed construction on two bridges at the New Hanover-Pender county line, which was the state’s most damaged area during Hurricane Florence.
Crews built a temporary bridge after the storm and in February 2019 NCDOT started on the construction of two two-lane bridges on U.S. 421 over Fishing Creek.
Last year, one year after Hurricane Florence, Gov. Roy Cooper and NCDOT staff met at this site to discuss lessons learned and to receive a project update. The highway, which is one of the area’s main thoroughfares, fully reopened to traffic Wednesday afternoon.
By putting bridges at this location instead of replacing the damaged culvert under the highway, more water can flow beneath the bridge which makes it more resilient to future storms.