How could a bridge toll affect low-income residents in the Wilmington area? | MyReporter

The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge partially closed in January for restoration work. As drivers have worked to adjust to new routes and traffic patterns, others are thinking about the future.

On Jan. 31, 2024, the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO) voted to modify its project submittal to the North Carolina Department of Transportation to evaluate a toll option for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge's replacement to see if toll bridge could score higher, moving it up in the department’s prioritization schedule.

As residents ponder the future impacts of replacing the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, one reader asked about WMPO's decision and how a toll project could impact low-income residents in the Wilmington area.

Here’s what we found out.

What's the status of a toll?

Mike Kozlosky, executive director of the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO), explained the board’s vote on Jan. 31, 2024, modified the organization’s project submittal to the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to evaluate a toll option for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.

“The resolution states that the proposed submission of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge as a toll option would be for scoring purposes only and would not commit the project to being programmed and delivered as a toll facility,” Kozlosky explained in an email.

He added the resolution also states that the WMPO board must affirm the bridge replacement with a toll facility, and if approved, that approval may be withdrawn up until NCDOT advertises for a contract to construct the replacement bridge.

Will the bridge be replaced?

Kozlosky noted the project is undergoing an environmental review to determine the least environmentally damaging practical alternative for the bridge’s replacement.

What's next?

The NCDOT will evaluate the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement under all funding options, including traditional funding, which is fully paid by the state, and tolling, which could include grant funds and state matching funds.

Per state law, NCDOT cannot advocate for tolling, and any toll project must be approved by the local planning organization.

“If tolling is selected as the delivery method, we would work with NCDOT and the N.C. Turnpike Authority to study and evaluate potential programs to reduce the financial impact on low-income residents,” Kozlosky said in an email.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: How a toll for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge affect low-income residents