NCDOT PROJECT U-5710
Proposed Eastwood Rd.at Military Cutoff Rd. Overpass

Doug Pruden - resident

As we all apply our common sense to the plans to build U-5710, it seems difficult to understand NCDOT’s unwillingness to answer our questions, to openly discuss the project, or to consider alternative approaches.   Upon reviewing information NCDOT has shared publicly about U-5710, an independent outside civil engineer (his identify must remain anonymous) suggested that we are dealing with a case of “availability bias”. 

Basically, what he was suggesting was that when NCDOT is asked to improve level of service at a busy intersection, typically in recent years their number one answer is -- build an overpass.  North Carolina remains a fairly rural state and in many locations an overpass (often one with cloverleaf ramps) proves to be a very workable, cost-effective solution.  You’ll see them all over the state.

But the intersection of Eastwood/Military Cutoff is anything but typical - not even for an urban setting.  In a presentation to the WMPO back on September 24, 2025, Division 3 Engineer Trevor Carroll specifically told the audience that his team thinks of Eastwood/Military Cutoff not by those names but rather as the intersection of two major highways, US 17 and US 74.  With those comments he made clear why many of us have a different point of view from NCDOT. 

To those of us who live, work and visit the area these are city streets. It feels as though NCDOT views the challenge at Eastwood/Military Cutoff in a vacuum and without consideration of many important and unique variables locally.  It appears that they considerate it just like any other intersection of two Federal highways. It could be anywhere in space. They are all the same.   That ignores a number of realities.

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·       This is already and established community - The intersection is at the center of long-established and mature residential communities and retail establishments.  There is little room to plop down an overpass on top of a limited space (and certainly no room for ramps).

·       “Averages” don’t tell the story - Traffic volume and waiting times at this intersection vary dramatically by the season, the day of the week, and the hour of the day.  Anything referencing “average” in regard to Eastwood/Military traffic flow ignores the reality.

·       Can’t forget the drawbridge - It is 1¼ miles from the Heide Trask drawbridge that changes traffic flow with each opening and closing.  No overpass can change that.

·       Or the ocean - It is just over 2 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.  Traffic on Eastwood Road is basically being funneled into just a big cul-de-sac once it crosses the drawbridge.  As one resident explained, building an overpass in this case would be like filling a shot glass with a fire hose.

·       Unrealistic traffic forecast - Despite the DOT modelling, traffic volume on Eastwood Road cannot grow at the rate they forecast.  The land along Eastwood Road from Military Cutoff heading east is already fully developed.  There can be little growth of homes or retail that would draw more traffic there. Eastwood Road is the primary roadway leading to Wrightsville Beach but the beach community has maxed out its available public parking.  There will not be the 17,300 additional vehicles as forecast by DOT as coming in 2035. There is no place for added vehicles to park at the beach even today.  End of story.  NCDOT however continues to use that forecast of increased traffic volume in the future to support their desire to build the overpass on Eastwood Road.

·       Military Cutoff is the bigger challenge – It a busy road and traffic volume there will likely increase as NCDOT forecasts.  But there are 8 other traffic signaled intersections (most of them 8-phase signal packages) in the 3-mile stretch to the north and south of the Eastwood intersection running from Station Road to Bradley Creek. Those familiars with the road from earlier days know that planners thought it should have 3 lanes in each direction.  That didn’t happen. Eliminating one single intersection cannot dramatically improve traffic flow now.

·       Putting homes below a bridge - There is a residential community (Eastport) abutting Eastwood and Military Cutoff.  If the overpass is built it will be just 15-20 feet from some of those homes and it will tower above them at a height of 30 feet.

·       Right of Ways - Because it is in the center of retail building and homes there are 68 separate parcels to be purchased for right of way through eminent domain.  That is proving to be complex and already in the process of costing taxpayers $15 million dollars or more.

·       Two major DOT projects within 2 miles - Due to safety concerns with the existing structures DOT is at the same time planning on replacing the only three bridges that connect Harbor Island to the beach area (Lumina Avenue).  That construction will be a painful experience for residents and visitors to the beach over a 3 year period.  Constructing the overpass (on the main artery leading to the drawbridge and the beach) at the same time as building those replacement bridges will make a very painful situation even worse. But that is what NCDOT intends to do.

·       Construction chaos - Because Eastwood/Military Cutoff is at the center of established residential and retail properties there will be no simple way to route traffic around the intersection during the scheduled 4 years of construction.  Yes, there is the newly constructed Drysdale Drive Extension that will help in one quadrant surrounding the intersection, but two other surrounding quadrants have only a pair of already busy one-lane roads and the final quadrant (Landfall) offers no option for re-routing traffic.  And remember NCDOT claims some 60,000+ vehicles per day travel through this intersection.  There is no place for all those vehicles to go.  It will be like painting an airplane as it flies through the air.  It will be chaos.  And NCDOT has ignored multiple requests for an explanation of how they plan to route traffic around the intersection during the 4 years of construction.

·       Destruction of retail businesses - There are approximately 125 small retail businesses located across Wrightsville Beach, in the four shopping centers in the immediate area, and at the east end of Wrightsville Avenue and Eastwood Road that will be severely damaged by occasional visitors and even loyal customers deciding to avoid the construction chaos and shop, dine, and vacation elsewhere.  Several owners have already told us they will terminate their leases.  Others will suffer.  Some will be destroyed by 4 years of construction chaos.

·       An alternative - Now that the Drysdale Drive Extension is completed there is a completely different situation then there was 10 years ago when NCDOT began its planning.   It would now be possible to eliminate the 8-phase traffic signal at Eastwood/Military Cutoff (and much waiting time).  Yet NCDOT refuses to even consider that option.  They take the position that yes it would help now, but by 2035 traffic at the intersection will again be failing.  That leave us wondering how traffic at Eastwood/Military Cutoff would be failing in the future, but apparently the other 8 intersections along Military Cutoff (virtually all with 8-phase signals) would not proportionately also have increased traffic volume and wait times and would not also be failing in level of service. Hard to understand.  NCDOT has not provided an explanation.

We struggle to understand why NCDOT and the WMPO have not considered all these factors that make the Eastwood/Military Cutoff intersection different than most others throughout the state.  This is not the average intersection. The tried and true NCDOT solution of an overpass is not a good fit.  It will cost over $81+ million more taxpayer dollars and provide only a small improvement.  True, drivers will not stop at Eastwood/Military Cutoff if an overpass is built.  Instead they will simply go 300 or 400 yards down the road and instead stop there at the next traffic signal. And then another.

We believe that NCDOT could right now test eliminating the 8-phase light package and the all left-hand turns at Eastwood/Military Cutoff and instead re-route those wishing to turn left through the recently built Drysdale Drive Extension.  It will turn the intersection into a simple red light/green light signal and based on data from Wilmington Traffic Engineering dramatically reduce waiting times at the intersection.  Admittedly some of us will not like that solution, but it is the exact traffic flow planned by NCDOT if they build the overpass. Left turns will be gone – like it or not in the future.

We hope that you will speak with friends and neighbors and share this information.  We find that the more people that understand NCDOT plans for U-5710, the more people oppose them. If you are ready to raise questions with NCDOT and elected officials, a contact list is provided.

We know they may have ignored your outreach in the past.  All the more reason to write and call them again so they know that the opposition to U-5710 continues to grow.

Thank you.