Separating Brunswick County and the town of Leland is the two-lane, 10-mile stretch of Maco Road, also designated N.C. 87. Though the road has had significant increases in traffic and development over the years, officials say the road has capacity for more.
Thousands of vehicles travel Maco Road everyday, frequent drivers seeing the road shift from serving as a quiet road to a major thoroughfare. As developers continue to make plans for property along Maco Road, how much more can the road handle?
Maco Road connects U.S. 17 near Leland to U.S. 74/76 in Sandy Creek. Between the two busy intersections, the route shows off multiple churches, new and old residential homes and lush greenery.
It is also the location of where Brunswick's biggest residential
project has been proposed. Developers behind the proposed Strategic Maco Road Project pulled back after Brunswick residents, staff and commissioners voiced concerns about the 12,499-home project reshaping the area. Presented plans for the project showed the homes spanning across 4,362 acres of land between Town Creek Road and N.C. 87 in Winnabow.
County staff had more than 15 concerns about the project, some of the concerns involved flooding, traffic, the use of privately owned roads as main accesses and more. Residents claimed the area's two-laned, narrow roads are already dangerous and puts children's lives at risk.
According to the Brunswick County and Leland development dashboard, hundreds of homes have already been built and more are approved, with developers still proposing to build along the busy road.
Maco Road near Old Town Creek Road increased from an average of 4,100 daily vehicle trips in 2021, to 5,867 in 2025, according to data collected by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). Near the intersection of Old Maco Road and N.C. 87, the average daily traffic rose from 2,587 in 2025 to 3,457 in April 2026.
"The roads and intersections are already deadly," Leland resident Maureen Johndro previously told county officials. "Congestion is horrible due to overcrowding and development of homes and businesses."
Data from the NCDOT shows three fatal wrecks and eight crashes resulting in serious injuries along Maco Road between 2016-2025. The NCDOT safety scoring map, using 2021-2025 data, shows the road sectioned off with different scores. A majority of the road ranges from a score of 33-100, with more than 50 crashes reported.
The Brunswick County Planning Board on Aug. 10 discussed a request to rezone roughly 67.5 acres from rural residential to medium density residential. Planning department staff recommended denying the request, but noted Maco Road has capacity for more development.
Veronica Scott, NCDOT representative, said Maco Road is currently not at capacity, and that it is operating at approximately 60% of its capacity. Functional capacity corresponds to a demand‑to‑capacity ratio of 0.9, when traffic volumes begin to cause noticeable operational impacts, Scott explained.
"Based on our review of the annual average daily traffic volumes, the intersection of U.S. 74/76 and N.C. 87 is expected to reach capacity first along the corridor. ... With typical growth rates, Maco Road is projected to reach functional capacity in about 20 years," Scott said.
Larger development proposals require a traffic impact analysis to identify potential impacts on safety, traffic and operations, Scott said. The analysis also outlines improvements to mitigate impacts and help manage capacity concerns.
"It is understood that new developments can accelerate traffic growth and increase volumes more quickly," Scott said. "This is why collaboration between NCDOT and the local jurisdiction is essential."
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Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Thousands of cars take this northern Brunswick road, more to come
