Cape Fear River Bridge in Bladen County Set To Open Sometime This Spring

A huge new bridge over the Cape Fear River will open to drivers in late spring 2025 — almost a year after the initial completion was predicted. The $23.3 million structure takes the place of a 100-year-old bridge in Bladen County, running 1,218 feet with four lanes of modern road.

Work began in mid-2020 after crews tore down the old bridge, which shut down in November 2019 because of serious safety concerns after hurricane damage. In a big step forward, workers put in 42 reinforced concrete support beams during May 2022.

A project redesign in late fall 2023 caused the delay — Elizabethtown requested that 18 to 20 light poles be added to the bridge.

"We agreed to their request, which required redesigning the project and ordering 18 to 20 light poles. All of this took several months to redesign and also to have the poles manufactured. We have to install the poles, the conduit, and also a power source. So, the original completion had been late May 2024, but due to all of this additional work, the new completion date has been pushed back to spring 2025," Andrew Barksdale from the North Carolina Department of Transportation told Bladen Online.

The next big project in Bladen County won't happen until 2028 — NCDOT plans to replace the Henry Creek bridge.