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Resident urges Brunswick County to oppose NCDOT’s selected Carolina Bays Extension alternatives
Summary
A local resident told commissioners the chosen alternatives for the Carolina Bays Extension would destroy homes, businesses, churches, cemeteries and medical providers along US 17 and estimated at least $700,000 in annual tax revenue losses; he asked the county to expand the study area and pass a resolution opposing the current alternatives.
Eric Lehman, a resident of Ocean Isle Beach, told the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners that the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s selected alternatives for the Carolina Bays Extension would cause substantial local harm and urged the board to oppose them.
“Based on the existing businesses, homes, churches, cemeteries, and medical facilities along the proposed US 17 destruction, the losses will be at least an annual reduction in tax revenues of $700,000,” Lehman said, adding that county tax records used in the estimate are four years old and likely understate the impact. He said construction phasing would force traffic onto single lanes or divert motorists to smaller roads such as Old Georgetown Road or Beach Drive, increasing safety risks for residents and visitors.
Lehman asked the commissioners to expand the project’s study area to identify inland alternatives that would preserve traffic flow during construction, reduce property destruction and retain tax revenue. He said local towns and state Rep. Frank Eiler are collaborating with residents and urged the Brunswick County Commissioners to consider a formal resolution opposing the current alternatives and supporting study-area expansion and inland routing options.
The request was made during the public-comment period; no formal county action on the Carolina Bays Extension was recorded in the transcript.
