One of the most expensive roadway projects coming to New Hanover County will provide congestion relief along a high-traffic street.
Wilmington locals are well acquainted with congestion along College Road. Running straight through the center of the city, stretches of the north-south corridor see an average of 55,500 vehicles per day, according to data from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
With the area’s population expected to continue booming in the coming decades, a major overhaul of a 2.64-mile stretch of South College Road is scheduled to alleviate congestion and improve travel times. While construction is still years away, planning and design is already in the works.
What's planned?
The project will provide a variety of improvements along South College
Road from New Centre Drive to just south of Shipyard Boulevard. Work associated with the project includes additional turn and thru lanes in each direction, additional turn lanes at Randall Parkway and Wrightsville Avenue, concrete median installation and offset left turn movements.
The total funds needed for the project are $81.2 million. Right-of-way property acquisition is expected to cost $29.8 million, while utility work is expected to cost $12.5 million.
Construction is projected to begin in 2033, according to the latest draft of the State Transportation Improvement Program. Right-of-way acquisition and utility work are both slated to begin in 2030.
What's next for College Road?
An unfunded $38.9 million intersection improvement will overhaul the intersection at College Road and Oleander Drive, converting the corner into a quadrant intersection by improving and shifting left turns to each end of Parkway Drive. Construction is not yet scheduled, but the $21.2 million right-of-way acquisition is slated for fall 2028. The intersection is considered one of the most dangerous in Wilmington.
Another South College Road project, which is not yet funded, will bring improvements to the stretch from Shipyard Boulevard to Carolina Beach Road. Improvements being considered include additional thru lanes in each direction with modified superstreet configurations, intersection modifications at Holly Tree Road and continuous flow intersection approaches at South 17th Street.
The total cost of the 4.23-mile project is $96 million. The construction date has not been determined.
Daniel Sheehan covers New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: With traffic rising, improvements are coming to College Road
