It’s often called “the other bridge” that many motorists use when wrecks or other delays cause traffic to back up leading to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.

But its real name is the Isabel Stellings Holmes Bridge, named in 1988 after a former N.C. Department of Transportation deputy secretary who died in March 1978.

The bridge is a four-lane bascule drawbridge and carries N.C. 133 across the Northeast Cape Fear River, between U.S. 421 and North Third Street in Wilmington.

The bridge originally opened in 1979, replacing a two-lane bridge that was built in 1928. It was known as the Northeast Cape Fear River bridge before being named for Holmes.

As a side note, the bridge has made a couple of star appearances in films including “Cat’s Eye,” filmed in 1985, and Stephen King’s 1986 film “Maximum Overdrive.”

Date posted: May 19, 2009

User-contributed question by:
Jim McNeil