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Cape Fear Memorial Bridge
Cape Fear Memorial Bridge
Official name	Cape Fear Memorial Bridge
Carries	; I-20 (Future); ; Bus US 17/US 76/421
Crosses	Cape Fear River
Locale	Wilmington, North Carolina
Maintained by	North Carolina Department of Transportation
ID number	unknown
Design	Vertical lift bridge
Total length	924.5 m (3,033.1 ft)
Clearance below	21 m (68.9 ft)
Opened	October 1, 1969
Coordinates	34°13′41″N 77°57′08″W / 34.2280°N -77.9521°ECoordinates: 34°13′41″N 77°57′08″W / 34.2280°N -77.9521°E

Location of the bridge within Wilmington.

The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge is a steel vertical lift bridge in North Carolina. It carries U.S. Route 17 Business, U.S. Route 76, and U.S. Route 421 across the Cape Fear River between Brunswick County and New Hanover County. It also carried U.S. Route 74 until that designation was shifted to the Isabel S. Holmes Bridge. It is currently the highest bridge in North Carolina, and features a lift span that can be raised 135 feet.^[1]

The bridge was constructed in 1969, and replaced a 1929 bridge (which was removed) across the Northeast Cape Fear River, near where the Isabel Stellings Holmes Bridge is today.

Between May and August 2008, the bridge is undergoing repairs of cracks in its decking. Because the bridge is narrow and carries much more traffic than when it was built, it is considered functionally obsolete by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

There has been discussion of a new bridge across the Cape Fear River downstream from downtown Wilmington. However, the Cape Fear Skyway remains in the early planning stage.