NCDOT completes Calabash River Bridge project ahead of schedule

CALABASH, N.C. (WECT) - A bridge along the Calabash River has now opened as of April 24.

The new taller, longer bridge on Beach Drive SW is replacing the 1975 bridge the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) had to temporarily close during several previous storms, including Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Ian.

The bridge now provides a safer evacuation route, is around seven feet higher over the river, and is more than twice as long, nearly the length of two football fields.

“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, NCDOT’s Division 3 engineer based in Castle Hayne.

The new bridge maintains two lanes, but the lanes and paved shoulders are wider and a multi-use path was built alongside the bridge to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.

“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.