By Hannah Leyva
Contributing Writer
During discussions of several proposed developments in the Mayfaire and Wrightsville Beach areas, one issue has come up over and over again: the increase in vehicle traffic that these projects would bring to already overcrowded roads.
In a brief presentation to Wilmington City Council before they approved The Avenue development last week, Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Mike Kozlosky said 34 road projects in the area have funding through the 2018-2027 State Transportation Improvement Program and the city’s 2014 transportation bond that was approved by voters.
“It’s going to be hard to drive around Wilmington in the future, in the next five to 10 years, without seeing orange construction cones,” Kozlosky said. “But it is short-term pain for long-term gain.”
While the projects cover roads throughout the greater Wilmington area, due to the recently approved developments, residents and elected officials have been especially concerned about the Military Cutoff Road area.
According to Kozlosky, that area will have a total of seven projects and six intersection improvements that will cost an estimated $494 million. These include the Military Cutoff extension and the ongoing work on Market Street, Martin Luther King Parkway, and Eastwood Road.
The Military Cutoff Road extension, which will include three lanes for traffic on either side, will take the thoroughfare from its current end at Market Street and connect it to the Wilmington Bypass. Construction began in January of this year and is expected to be completed in April 2022.
The Market Street Access Management project, which includes improvements on the highway from Porters Neck to Colonial Drive in the Forest Hills neighborhood, has been broken down into phases. Construction on the portion between Military Cutoff and Marsh Oaks Drive is scheduled to start in October of this year, while work between Station Road and MLK Parkway will begin in December of 2020.
Improvements on Eastwood Road, including a traffic light in front of St. Mark’s Catholic Church, are also set to begin later this year. Work to improve the intersection of Eastwood and Military Cutoff , which will be done in two phases, is scheduled to start in 2020.
According to Kozlosky, the projects will be carried out by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and typically take around two to three years to complete.
While the goal of all the roadwork is to alleviate traffic problems, it is currently unclear how they will mitigate the increased vehicle traffic that will come with the newly approved developments. According to the traffic impact analysis report that was conducted as part of the application process for The Avenue, that section of Military Cutoff is already operate at level F, which is the worst grade given to roads in the state.
Councilman Kevin O’Grady, who eventually voted against approving The Avenue, asked whether the Military Cutoff extension would relieve traffic or bring in more people and cars from north of the city.
“We’re going to see growth on Mililtary Cutoff just based on the development in the unincorporated area of the county,” Kozlosky responded. “But to what magnitude, I can’t answer that.”
Kozlosky said the NCDOT conducts traffic forecasts to help them determine infrastructure needs and allows for future developments in their projections, but does not consider specific projects because the forecasts are often done before developments are proposed.
“We’re always playing catch-up,” Kozlosky said, noting that the WMPO makes long-term plans (with a minimum of 20 years) that are updated every five years. “[But] we’ve got a lot of stuff coming in the pipeline … we’re going to see the benefits of that for 20, 25 years after the improvements are made.”
