If we want a new bridge, someone has to pay for it. 

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Thursday March 26 2026

Port City Daily reported yesterday the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization – WMPO for short – received an unsolicited bid and project proposal from Delivering Bridges, LLC.  The private company would design, build, operate and maintain a new six-lane fixed-span bridge.  The target opening date is 2031.

The cost of the project would be over \$1 billion dollars.  While the North Carolina Department of Transportation is bringing \$300 million to the table from state and federal funds, the deficiency has to be made up somewhere.  Government funding for these types of huge projects are certainly becoming harder to find.  Which just leaves just two options – institute regional transportation tax or put in a toll.

A tax would spread out the cost of the proposal to the three counties who are impacted the most by the bridge.  Given the current amount of the shortfall, the estimated number of drivers in the three counties and a quick non-official back of the envelope computing  – such a tax could result in \$1200 to \$1500 per driver over a 10 year period – or an extra \$120 - \$150 a year. The problem with taxes is that it is never a 100% throughput – which means that in order to get to a reimbursement level of \$150 we actually have to charge at \$200 to account for government red tape and inefficiency.  Additionally we have to ask the question – is it really fair for people in the far reaches of the three impacted counties to pay the cost of a bridge that they would rarely - if ever - use?

Delivering Bridges LLC is proposing another option – a toll of around \$2.50 per car each way.  From that they would recuperate their investment in about the same time span and operate and maintain the bridge.  Because it is a private company whose income depends on the functionality of the bridge, we can rest assured it would be maintained better than any public road overseen by NCDOT. A toll is actually a tax itself – a user tax.  If people and businesses want to use that bridge and the convenience it gives to downtown, they need to pay for it. Downsides of course include a steeper transportation cost for businesses routinely going over that bridge and possibly more wear and tear on the Isabel Holmes Bridge located upriver as drivers seek to avoid the toll.

We need a new bridge.  Costs and maintenance are skyrocketing – even with the recent fixes.  Bridges are not free to build – or maintain.  Will we again turn to government to fix a problem, or will we look to the private sector to come up with a solution.

Either way, troubled waters ahead.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample.  Thanks for listening.

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