A cheaper, less disruptive Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement would be welcome news. Residents deserve to know that every reasonable way to reduce the project’s cost and impact was explored. They also deserve apples-to-apples comparisons and a fair accounting of the process that brought us here.
A new report commissioned by the city of Wilmington suggests the bridge could cost less, but relies largely on concepts NCDOT already studied and ruled out.
It was reasonable for the city to ask whether better options exist. That inquiry would have done well to account for findings in the record rather than presenting options already shown to be infeasible. Wanting a different answer and finding one are different matters…