SURF CITY, N.C. -- After months of construction and traffic delays, and some controversy, the brand new Surf City bridge will finally open next Tuesday.

  • Balfour Beatty construction crews put the final touches on the 3,773-foot long, 65-foot above-water bridge overlooking Topsail Island.
  • Tuesday’s grand opening also means a fresh start for the island community hit hard by Florence.
  • The $54 million project is slated for completion in September 2020.

Balfour Beatty construction crews put the final touches on the 3,773-foot long, 65-foot above-water bridge overlooking Topsail Island. The NCDOT project started September 2016.

“We are about a year ahead of schedule to put traffic on the bridge. So just to reiterate, that means our team has delivered this project a year ahead of schedule,” said Trevor Carroll, the NCDOT engineer behind the project.

Tuesday’s grand opening also means a fresh start for the island community hit hard by Florence.

“We're kind of getting ready to open a new chapter in Surf City. We got the beaches back open, things are starting to come together,” said Allan Libby, the Surf City Director of Tourism and Public Information Officer.

But to welcome the new, Surf City must say goodbye to the old, and the old Swing Bridge will also close Tuesday as the new one opens to traffic. Libby says get your ride in by noon as the bridge is sentimental to many.

“With visitors, that green bridge means happiness, it means vacation time, it means good memories, and they've been on us about 'why don't you just fix the old one?' Which has now been out here for 60 years,” said Libby.

While the bridge is completed, the $54 million project is slated for completion in September 2020.

“We still have to demolish the old bridge, we have a lot of improvements yet to do on Roland Avenue, that fall under that $54 million price tag. That is for the entire project. We are going to do a lot of parking improvements, improve the drainage, raising the grate a little bit on both sides,” said Libby.

Contractor Balfour Beatty is to receive $3 million as an incentive for completing the bridge early.