How many of your trips onto the island this winter will use Causeway Drive? Once the short bridge over Lees Cut closes for about a year, nearly every one will. Most of this winter's island calendar is already set along that same road.
NCDOT has not announced the exact closure date yet. The work leading up to it has started, though. On October 1, WECT reported that NCDOT awarded Balfour Beatty an $8.67 million contract for Phase 1. That covers building the new West Salisbury Street bridge over Lees Cut and moving the waterlines. Waterline crews started in October and expect the job to take four to six weeks. Their equipment sits on Pelican Drive and the shoulder of West Salisbury, and NCDOT expects no traffic impact during this stage. Once the waterlines are done, the bridge closes, and NCDOT says it will announce that date later.
The Short Bridge Goes First, and Causeway Carries the Load
At an August 31 meeting, the town's Bridge Replacement Committee heard the latest plan. The committee minutes say the Lees Cut closure was scheduled for October through November 2026 and should last nine to 12 months. Utility work on the other two bridges will run at the same time.
Port City Daily's August 14 report laid out how the closure works:
- West Salisbury Street closes from Lookout Harbour to the eastern entrance of Pelican Drive.
- Causeway Drive keeps two lanes open in each direction, and its multiuse path stays open too.
- The Causeway bridge stays open to cars and pedestrians for all of Phase 1.
- The new Lees Cut bridge goes up just north of the old one, give or take a few feet. Crews will tear down the old bridge while they build the new one.
For daily routines, that means the drive you take to the market, the park, or a Salisbury Street dinner most likely goes over Causeway. The closed stretch is on West Salisbury only. Restaurants on East Salisbury, such as Shark Bar and Kitchen at 13 E. Salisbury St., are outside it. Upstairs there, The Red Cat Sushi Bar still opens daily at 3 p.m., with half-price sushi until 5, according to Port City Daily.
The town is also putting its own money into the Causeway corridor. The minutes say design work on the Causeway, Waynick and Lumina intersection was 95% complete. The project is estimated at $500,000, all of it funded by the town, and is expected to improve traffic noticeably.
The Drawbridge Is Set to Change Its Schedule
The island's drawbridge is not one of the three bridges being replaced, but its schedule is changing because of them. Right now it opens on the hour and on demand for boats. The August 31 minutes record a verbal agreement between NCDOT and the Coast Guard. Under it, the Heidi Trask bridge would open only at the top of each hour, starting when the Lees Cut bridge closes.
Port City Daily quoted NCDOT Division 3 engineer Trevor Carroll on how boats would be handled:
"Pleasure vessels will be able to traverse under the bridge during opening at the top of the hour. Commercial vessels will have to call for a 30-minute notice if they are a part of a towing operation or dredging operation."
As of that August report, NCDOT and the Coast Guard were still working out the details. If the plan is finalized as described, pleasure-boat openings would fall on the hour, and some commercial towing and dredging vessels would arrange openings with 30 minutes' notice.
Why the Fall Calendar Survived
In April, the town's Parks and Rec Advisory Committee suggested pausing special events during construction. Port City Daily reported that aldermen weren't sure whether a moratorium would ease the disruption or just take away whatever normal life was left. The board then voted unanimously to allow events before Memorial Day weekend and after Labor Day weekend while construction goes on, and pushed the summer 2027 question to a later meeting.
That vote is why the shoulder season looks the same this year. Most of the dates below are at Wrightsville Beach Park, 321 Causeway Drive, on the road that stays open for all of Phase 1.
One well-known event is leaving. Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity's Turkey Trot spent 21 years on the island. This year it moves to Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park in downtown Wilmington on Thursday, November 26. Port City Daily reported that organizers said the race had outgrown the island and that construction could complicate race-day road closures. Registration fills at more than 3,000 people every year, and the race will stay downtown for as long as the bridge work lasts. The old course went around the Wrightsville Beach Loop. The events staying on the island are spread across the season, and most of them are at the park.
The Dates Between Now and December
Event organizers say dates can change, so check the official listings before you go.
- Friday, October 30. Movies in the Park runs 6:45 to 9 p.m. at Wrightsville Beach Park.
- Saturday, October 31. The paid parking season ends. The 2026 season ran from March 1 through October 31.
- Mondays through December 7. The Wrightsville Beach Farmers' Market runs 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its new spot, the Wrightsville Beach Park softball field. Parking is free next to Causeway Drive, according to Port City Daily.
- Saturday, November 14. The 13th Annual Taste of Wrightsville Beach runs 5 to 8 p.m. under a tent in the Bluewater Waterfront Grill parking lot. It has more than 35 food, beer and wine booths, and live music. Tickets are $100 for adults and $25 for anyone under 21. Net proceeds go to Weekend Meals on Wheels, as Port City Daily reported.
- Friday, November 27. The Tree Lighting Ceremony is at 321 Causeway Drive. Elf Patrol starts at 5:30 p.m., Santa arrives at 5:45, and the Wilmington Celebration Choir sings at 6.
- Saturday, November 28. The NC Holiday Flotilla has been a local tradition since 1983. Festival in the Park runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more than 100 arts and crafts vendors, an antique car show and a children's play area. The lighted boat parade starts at 6 p.m., followed by fireworks. The same day, the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association holds its second 2026 surf contest, according to its LiveHeats event page.
- Friday, December 4. Movies in the Park shows The Santa Clause at Wrightsville Beach Park.
Flotilla weekend is the date to watch. If the waterline work finishes on schedule, the Lees Cut closure could start around then. The biggest weekend of the island's season could be the first one with West Salisbury closed and Causeway handling all the traffic.
What Comes After Lees Cut
The short bridge is the first of three phases. In WECT's August 14 report, Carroll was blunt about it. "There is no such thing as a zero-impact project," he said. The phases below follow the timeline Port City Daily reported:
| Phase | Bridge | Timing | What stays open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Salisbury over Lees Cut | Starts late 2026, about one year | Causeway Drive, two lanes each way, plus the multiuse path |
| 2 | West Salisbury over Banks Channel | Starts summer 2027 | New Lees Cut bridge and Causeway; parking on West Salisbury |
| 3 | Causeway Drive over South Banks Channel | 2028 to 2030 | Salisbury bridges; traffic moves to the newly built half of the Causeway bridge |
When the work is done, each new Salisbury bridge will have one 12-foot lane in each direction and a bike lane on both sides. The Causeway bridge will have four 11-foot lanes, bike lanes and a 12-foot multiuse path. NCDOT has committed to keeping two lanes open on and off the island the whole time. The total cost is now estimated at $105 million, up from the original $70 million.
The finish date is still a target. In August, WECT and Port City Daily both reported spring 2030, two years earlier than the old 2032 goal. The NCDOT project page notes that future dates are subject to change, and WECT sends readers to that page for project updates.
If you own on the island and you're deciding whether to list during Phase 1 or wait until a later phase, the Living By The Coast Realty Group team can show you how recent sales near Salisbury and Causeway match up with the construction schedule. Start with a Free Home Valuation, and we'll keep you updated as NCDOT confirms each date.
