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NCDOT completes bridges at New Hanover-Pender border

By Allison Ballard, StarNews

June 4, 2020

WILMINGTON – The N.C. Department of Transportation announced Thursday that construction of two two-lane bridges on U.S. 421 near the New Hanover-Pender county line is complete.

The highway, which is one of the area’s main thoroughfares, fully reopened to traffic Wednesday afternoon, according to a release from the department.

The area washed out during Hurricane Florence in 2018. Crews built a temporary bridge over Fishing Creek after the storm and started construction of the new bridge project in February 2019.

It included installation of northbound and southbound bridges. Both are two lanes at 562-feet long. NCDOT said that putting bridges at the location, instead of installing a culvert pipe under the highway, will leave more capacity for flood water during storms.