The replacement effort for the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge will continue, officials said Wednesday, despite $242 million in federal funding now being up in the air for the transportation project, which is seeing its estimated cost grow to potentially $1 billion.

“Although federal funding has been paused, we are still moving forward with our planning process,” said Landon Zimmer, a Wilmington resident and member of the N.C. Board of Transportation.

On Wednesday, the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) confirmed that the grant funding had been put on hold.

"At this time, all USDOT discretionary grants are paused, per the Feb. 26 Executive Order,” Andrew Barksdale, NCDOT communications officer, wrote in a statement on Wednesday, referring to the Trump Administration's order implementing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

“We are working with our federal partners to determine when the grant for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge could move forward," Barksdale added.

The $242 million in federal funds, announced in July as part of more than $5 billion in Large Bridge Project awards nationally, was the largest grant announced toward the project for replacing the bridge built in 1969. At the time of last year's announcement, the cost was expected to be $485 million. The estimated price tag has increased significantly to $1.1 billion, according to transportation officials.

"While we are still considering different design options to accommodate vertical clearance needs based on direction from our federal partners, the 135-foot-tall, fixed span option that is included in the draft STIP (State Transportation Improvement Plan) is now projected to cost $1.1 billion. The cost is largely attributed to a refined design and inflation impacts on materials," Barksdale emailed in a statement to the Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO). 

"NCDOT will continue to work with its partners at the WMPO to move the project forward and continue to pursue the completion of the necessary environmental documents. The department is on track to finish those documents in 2026," Barksdale wrote.

Zimmer, who is also a member of the WMPO board, said the planning organization voted more than a year ago to keep all bridge replacement funding options open, a measure that moved the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge project to the top of a statewide project list.

“(That vote) led to an $85 million commitment from NCDOT, even before the project received the $242 million grant,” Zimmer said. “As I’ve recently mentioned to both the WMPO and the Wilmington City Council, it’s important that we continue to trust the process and keep our options open. I’m not going to speculate on hypothetical scenarios, but I can assure you that NCDOT will keep pushing forward and communicating about our progress to ensure that we end up with the best possible bridge for our community and its future.”

Natalie English, president and CEO of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, has been a vocal advocate in recent years for the bridge’s replacement. In a statement on Wednesday, she said that “a reliable, long-term solution for this critical infrastructure remains a top priority” for the region.

“We recognize that the administration is taking a closer look at grants and contracts as part of its broader fiscal strategy,” she wrote. “We remain confident in the strength of our grant request and will continue to explore all potential funding opportunities to support the replacement of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.”

Money isn't the only important step in the process. The bridge's height and design are among the next aspects being studied. NCDOT officials have presented three options for the bridge replacement. They include Alternative A, a movable span bridge with a 65-foot vertical clearance when closed and 135-foot clearance when open; Alternative B, a fixed span bridge with 135 feet of vertical clearance; and Alternative C, a fixed span bridge with a 100-foot vertical clearance, plus or minus 35 feet. 

On Tuesday night, the Wilmington City Council considered a resolution supporting the 100-foot fixed span replacement before it was withdrawn from consideration. The council, ultimately, approved a substitute resolution urging NCDOT, Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers to analyze the potential negative effects the bridge design could have on the city's historic district.

Historic Wilmington Foundation officials and homeowners in the historic district have raised concerns about the impact the 135-foot replacement could have on the downtown neighborhood.

English has voiced support for the taller bridge option. In a recent opinion piece published in the Business Journal, she wrote that considering the 100-foot replacement would be "short-sighted, prioritizing speculative cost savings over long-term sustainability."

It might be too soon to decide what the replacement bridge’s height will be, Zimmer said.

"Before making a decision on the bridge height, I want to stress that we’ve only completed one study so far, which focused solely on boating navigation. There are many more studies to come," he wrote in an email to the Business Journal.

"As such, we cannot base the bridge design on this single study alone. It’s simply too early to give a definitive answer, as height is just one of many factors we’ll need to consider," he said. "Once all necessary studies are completed and public input has been received, we’ll evaluate all the data and make a fully informed decision about the CFMB design, including its height."