VIDEO: NCDOT Plans Major Road Upgrades in Wilmington Over Next Several Years
NCDOT plans major road upgrades in Wilmington with $50.8M contract to widen Gordon Road, build an overpass at MLK Parkway/Market St junction. Projects aim to ease traffic congestion and enhance safety in the coastal city. More improvements to come on Market St and other busy intersections.
A well-traveled roadway in the coastal port city of Wilmington, N.C., will be improved due to a recently awarded contract by the state Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the agency announced Dec. 18.
More than 2.5 mi. of Gordon Road between Market Street/U.S. Highway 17 and Interstate 40 will be widened to four lanes with a raised median and some reduced conflict intersections that increase safety. The improvements include a multi-use path and sidewalk that span the length of the project, along with upgrades to the utilities, the drainage system and the traffic signals.
NCDOT awarded the $50.8 million construction contract to S.T. Wooten Corp., a Wilson, N.C., builder, which is expected to begin work at the site next spring.
The project is slated to be substantially complete, with all lanes fully opened, by the summer of 2029.
Major Upgrade to MLK Parkway/Market Street Junction Still Years Away
Nearby, the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Market Street in Wilmington will likely see the beginning of a complete overhaul by NCDOT before the end of the decade.
The junction, which connects two of the busiest thoroughfares in the city, has long been plagued by major traffic congestion. As Wilmington and its surrounding areas continue to grow, the project to replace the intersection with an overpass is one of several transportation construction efforts, including the Gordon Road upgrade, designed to accommodate the traffic increase.
The Wilmington StarNews on Dec. 19 noted that while it will still be several years before anyone will be able to drive on the overpass, there are many key steps in the process that will impact residents.
Construction of the MLK Parkway/Market Street intersection improvement is projected to start in the fall of 2029, NCDOT Communications Officer Andrew Barksdale told the StarNews, and will likely take five years to complete.
Additionally, its rights-of-way should be obtained in 2028, according to the agency's State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
In the road junction's new iteration, a bridge will allow traffic on MLK Parkway to flow freely over Market Street. Plans call for the intersection to be transformed into a single-point urban interchange and also will include a two-phase signal light system for Market rather than the eight phases that drivers must currently sit through.
Beyond the intersection itself, Barksdale said a raised median will be installed to turn the stretch of Market Street east from the CSX rail line to Station Road into a divided highway with breaks to accommodate left turns and U-turns. Sidewalks will be maintained or added, as well, on both sides of Market Street in the project's footprint.
The total funds needed to build the project are $55 million, according to STIP. Capital improvement projects included in the program are largely funded through motor fuel and highway use taxes.
Barksdale added that a meeting to discuss the project is tentatively planned for next May and will further determine the design of the improvements planned for Market Street.
Intersection Upgrade Has Been in Works for Years
The MLK Parkway/Market Street intersection overhaul was originally announced in 2017 with crews expected to be on site in 2020, but due to a lack of funding, the enterprise was delayed and has remained so until now.
Alternative designs were presented to the public at a meeting back in 2017, including an option that did not require a bridge. Those folks that attended the forum largely favored the single-point design, which suggested minimal environmental and residential impact, according to the Wilmington news source.
NCDOT's State Transportation Improvement Program, which oversees more than 2,000 projects statewide, prioritizes projects based on several factors, including need and funding. Many large undertakings, such as the replacement of Wilmington's Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, experience shifts in prioritization based on available funds.
The MLK Parkway/Market Street overpass is only one part of NCDOT's long-term improvement plan for Market Street, Wilmington's main avenue into the downtown along the Cape Fear River.
Among other works that NCDOT has on the drawing board are improvements to the intersection of Oleander Drive and College Road. Upgrades to the junction, one of the busiest in Wilmington, are currently funded for preliminary engineering only. The venture still needs over $38 million before construction can begin, according to STIP.
