NCDOT rejects private Cape Fear Memorial Bridge proposal as toll concerns persistWILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The North Carolina Department of Transportation has rejected a private company’s unsolicited proposal to replace the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, determining the plan offered no meaningful differences from the state’s existing replacement project while ongoing concerns over tolls persist. Although the proposal has been rejected, tolling remains one of the most contentious issues surrounding the project. “If it is going to be tolled, the state should toll it so that it ends when their capital funding has been recouped.” Carroll said NCDOT continues to evaluate only a traditional toll bridge because it receives a significantly higher score under the state’s transportation prioritization process than a non-tolled alternative. Barbee said it remains unclear how the state would recover those funds or whether the new provision would ultimately apply to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement if the project were not approved.