Your first Port of Wilmington pickup: gates, hours, TWIC and lane rules

The short version

The container gate at 1 Shipyard Boulevard is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last container is received at 5:30 p.m. [1][2]

You need a valid TWIC to enter the port. Without one, set up an approved escort before you arrive. No passengers are allowed in the truck. [1]

Before your first visit, register an account in the Navis N4 terminal system. Bring a safety vest and safety shoes. [1]

Which gate and when

Containers use the South Gate at the container terminal, 1 Shipyard Boulevard. Hours are Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last receiving at 5:30 p.m. [1][2]

The General Cargo Terminal uses the North Gate at 1870 Burnett Boulevard. It is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3:30 p.m. There are no appointments. It is first come, first served. [1][2]

At the North Gate, report to Cargo Control with the pickup or delivery number, the customer name and the cargo type. If you need an escort, be at the badging office by 3 p.m. [1]

Pulp and paper cargo at the General Cargo Terminal runs 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. [1]

The chassis yard gate is at the River Road entrance. It is open Monday to Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. A TWIC has been required there since May 24, 2021. After-hours and weekend access is available with advance notice. [1]

Reefer hours are not settled. The Port Access page lists 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a 4:30 p.m. final reefer cutoff. The Port of Wilmington facility page lists 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Call the South Gate at (910) 746-6488 before a reefer run. [1][2]

The port has 1,500 reefer plugs, on-dock cold storage and an overweight container allowance. [4]

Before your first visit

Get your TWIC in order. If you do not have one, arrange the approved escort service ahead of time. Nobody rides along with you. [1]

Register an account in the Navis N4 terminal system, and bring PPE: a safety vest and safety shoes. [1]

Trucker registration and container availability and holds are handled in NC Ports' Customer Access Portal. [3]

If you have had radiation therapy, tell the gate guard. [1]

Inside the gate

The South Gate complex opened February 14, 2022. It has 7 inbound and 6 outbound lanes, RFID, weigh-in-motion scales and OCR portals. [3]

Container traffic enters the South Gate in lanes 2 or 3. Inbound loads go through OCR portal lanes 1 or 2. [1]

The speed limit inside the terminal is 20 mph. Stay in your truck in the container yard. [1]

Lock your pins at the inspection lane. All container traffic leaves through the Customs radiation portal lanes. [1]

NC Ports reported average turn times of about 20 minutes for a single move and 30 minutes for a dual move through November 2024. Its facility page cites 18 and 32 minutes. [8][2]

Phone numbers and holidays

South Gate for containers: (910) 746-6488. North Gate for general cargo: (910) 746-6345. Chassis yard, and the South Gate after hours: (910) 746-6451. North Gate after hours: (910) 746-6448. [1]

The terminals close on the remaining 2026 holidays: Veterans Day on November 11, Thanksgiving on November 26 and 27, and Christmas on December 24, 25 and 28. New Year's Day, January 1, 2027, is also a closure. [2]

Getting there and the bridge

I-40 ends in Wilmington at Exit 420, at US 117 and NC 132. I-140 meets I-40 at Exit 416. [15]

I-140 is a 25.4-mile northern bypass from US 17 near Winnabow to I-40 near Murraysville. It has been complete since December 2017. [16]

The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge carries US 17, 76 and 421 across the river, and NCDOT says the corridor carries trucks moving freight to and from the port. It is a vertical-lift bridge, so expect delays when it opens for ships. [10][11]

During the 2024 rehab, crews tested the lift span every hour from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. [14]

As of NCDOT's May 2026 update, the replacement bridge is estimated at $1.1 billion. Public comment runs through October 15, 2026, and construction dates are not set. [11]

During the 2024 deck work, about 300 to 700 container trucks a day detoured via MLK Jr. Parkway, South College Road and Shipyard Boulevard. Commercial trucks were banned from Third Street during the project. [12][13]

The city refused requests to route port trucks on Third Street, and eastbound traffic was pointed to the Isabel Holmes Bridge or I-140. Expect a similar plan if the bridge closes again. [12][13]

Rail options

The Queen City Express runs daily CSX intermodal service from the port to the Charlotte Inland Port at 1301 Exchange Street. Imports leave Wilmington at 1 a.m. and are available at 8 a.m. the next day. [5]

Truck hours at the Charlotte Inland Port are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., with the last truck at 4:45 p.m. [1]

The Wilmington Midwest Express runs through CSX's Carolina Connector in Rocky Mount. Export transit is 5 days to Chicago, 4 days to Northwest Ohio and 6 days to St. Louis. [6]

The Wilmington Rocky Mount Express runs daily to the Carolina Connector at 5770 Old Battleboro Road in Battleboro. [7]

Intermodal rail volumes set records through 2024, and a fiscal 2026 yard expansion added 5,000 feet of working track. [19][9]

Hurricane season

Wilmington sees hurricane or tropical storm activity mostly from August to early October, about once every seven years on average. [18]

In Hurricane Florence in 2018, flooding cut Wilmington off from the rest of the state and closed the port and the airport. Main I-40 and I-95 segments reopened about 10 days after landfall. [17]