The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to widen South Front Street, realign the area’s railroad tracks and upgrade a nearby Wilmington intersection in the coming years.

The improvements aim to reduce congestion, improve pedestrian safety and incorporate multimodal access on the stretch of South Front Street between the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and Burnett Boulevard. The N.C. Department of Transportation hosted public meetings on the South Front Street improvements in Wilmington and Leland earlier this week.

The Department of Transportation expects to begin right-of-way acquisition and relocating utilities for the project in spring 2025 with construction kicking off in 2027. The proposed improvements would widen the existing two-lane South Front Street to a four-lane street with a median and an adjacent 10-foot-wide multiuse path. 

The project would realign part of the Wilmington Terminal Railroad, moving it from the middle of South Front Street between Marstellar and Meares Streets to the west side of the road. Realigning the railroad track will reduce the number of crossings from two to one, reducing congestion and the risk of collisions. 

The project would also convert the existing intersection where South Front Street and Burnett Boulevard cross into a double quadrant intersection, which would allow cars to make safer turns by eliminating conflict points, according to the Department of Transportation. 

Other intersections along South Front Street and Burnett Boulevard would also receive new traffic signals and other traffic shifts. The improvements have an estimated cost of $31.6 million and are fully funded. The project is moving forward in coordination with the Port of Wilmington and the relocation of the port's northern gate, said Division Design Engineer Brian Harding.

Harding said although lane closures are likely during the construction period, the Department of Transportation will aim to limit closures on South Front Street. The project's public comment period will remain open until Oct. 25. More information, renderings and public comment forms can be found here.