City council to vote on Skyway bridge gap funding

In a political doubleheader, the city council members and the county commissioners are meeting across the street from each other tonight. The city will meet at 6:30 pm in City Hall, and the New Hanover County Commissioners will meet at 5:00 pm for a “State of the County” address by Chairman Jason Thompson followed by a regular meeting.

On the city’s agenda are two resolutions endorsing the Cape Fear Skyway, both presented by Laura Padgett, a member of the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization.

If approved, the resolution would support the choice of a “northern alignment,” a route through Brunswick County that lies just above the Brunswick Forest development and would connect U.S. highway 17 and state highway 133 further down the Cape Fear River. The road would eventually connect to U.S. highway 421 in New Hanover County.

The resolution says that the northern alignment needs to be protected to avoid “encroaching development.”

Another resolution asks for the North Carolina legislature to support approximately $49 million in “gap” funding for the Skyway to be built, which would total $1.1 billion.

Other North Carolina projects that have “gaps” funded by the legislature include the Triangle Expressway, Garden Parkway, the Monroe Connector/Bypass and the Mid-Currituck Bridge, according to the resolution.