Dec 27, 2007 - State highway officials will build a two-lane road connecting Southport, Oak Island and Boiling Spring Lakes’ main gateways instead of hitching a ride with private developers offering to construct a longer, four-lane divided highway as an alternative.
Brunswick County commissioners and Southport aldermen have asked the Department of Transportation to put aside a 1.7-mile, two-lane connector from N.C. 211 just west of Long Beach Road to N.C. 133 south of the intersection of N.C. 87 at Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point. Instead, they favor plans by developers for a larger, four-mile highway linking N.C. 211 at Long Beach Road to N.C. 87 south of Boiling Spring Lakes city limits.
DOT secretary Lyndo Tippett told developers in a letter this week that the state “will continue with our present project.” He questioned whether the private proposal could meet environmental rules because the design is conceptual and not based on detailed surveys. Wetlands and endangered species — including red-cockaded woodpeckers and the rough-leaved loosestrife plant — are clearly accommodated in DOT’s plan.  By Lee Hinnant

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