On Wednesday, Sept. 30, officials from different sectors of southeastern North Carolina met at City Hall to prioritize the region’s Top 25 transportation projects, including the construction of several new routes, interchanges and upgrades in New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.

No projects on Wrightsville Beach made the list—or were likely even discussed—due to the fact that the town lacks the conditions needed for the large projects that were taken into consideration during the prioritization process.

The projects, said Wrightsville Beach Alderman Bill Blair, "are inversely related to helping people get to us, but it doesn’t do anything for us when they get here."

While Wrightsville Beach may not possess the right conditions required to elevate itself onto the list, Blair said he had dialogue with the executive director of the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and requested if funds become available, they be used to resurface Wrightsville Beach roads.

After more than a decade of planning, Carolina and Kure beaches earned a big win for the widening of Dow Road—a project that New Hanover County officials say will strengthen an important economic corridor. The project was moved up from No. 24 to No. 4.

The project calls for the construction of improved shoulders along Dow Road, installing three left hand turn lanes for vehicles heading south, and the creation of a multi-use path to run from Carolina Beach State Park to the municipal park in Kure Beach, said Kure Beach Mayor Mac Montgomery.

The mayor was hopeful that this project would relieve some of the traffic congestion caused by the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the Fort Fisher aquarium, recreation area and the historical site as well as the Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry every year.

The Wilmington MPO was required to submit a list of priority projects by Oct. 30 to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), Mike Kozlosky, the MPO executive director said, during an interview Friday. None of the listed projects have funding associated with them.

Since the Top 25 has been approved by the MPO, the local state division will create its own list, and both lists will be submitted to the NCDOT, that will then evaluate the projects based on certain criteria, namely mobility, safety and infrastructure health.

Other top projects include an extension of Independence Boulevard from Randall Parkway to Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway; a Military Cutoff Road Extension from Market Street to Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway; and three median improvements on Market Street.

The complete list of projects: