On Friday, the largest military installation in the world by population left behind its namesake — Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg — and became Fort Liberty.
Before Friday’s ceremony, street names on base that honored the Confederacy also were changed, including a short segment of Bragg Boulevard, which is now Liberty Boulevard within the base’s boundaries. But for the rest of the roadway that is off base, the Bragg name remains.
That’s because everything named “Bragg” off base is not under the military’s jurisdiction. And while the N.C. Department of Transportation maintains Bragg Boulevard, a spokesperson for the agency said DOT doesn’t use either “Bragg” or “Liberty.” The state’s designation for the highway is N.C. 87.
Changing the name of the road off base is up to the local governments — Cumberland County and the city of Fayetteville — and currently, there are no plans to change the name.
Renaming it would require going through the municipal process of changing any other street name. And either a local resident or elected leader would have to initiate that process.
“It’s definitely a process,” said Rawls Howard, director of the Cumberland County Planning and Inspections Department. “It’s not a quick and simple thing to do.”
How street renaming works
Someone who wants to change the local name of N.C. 87 in Fayetteville from Bragg Boulevard would have to file an application with the county to do so. County officials would then check to make sure the proposed new name is available and that it would not cause confusion for any emergency response.
If renaming the road passes all those hurdles, the county would draft an ordinance. At that point, the decision would be in the city’s hands.
“We do a lot of that front-end work. The hearing then gets transferred over to the (municipality), and ultimately it would be up to the (municipality) to decide, …” Howard said.
According to the city’s street renaming process, a public hearing on the issue would be scheduled. That would involve publishing a notice of the hearing in a local newspaper at least 10 days beforehand and notifying all property owners on the street that would get a new name.
After the public hearing, the Fayetteville City Council would consider endorsing the change. If the new name is accepted, the county and city would implement the change.
The person initiating the name change would not have to be the owner of property on Bragg Boulevard. Any resident can do so.
“I’m sure during the public process, it would come out that this person, for example, doesn’t live on the street,” Howard said. “The commissioners or the governing body would have to weigh in their decision as to whether or not they would want to grant it.”
Changing a road’s name would cost money. New road signs on interstates directing traffic toward Fort Liberty instead of Fort Bragg, for example, will cost half a million dollars, according to a DOT spokesperson. The military is expected to cover those costs, the spokesperson said.
If Bragg Boulevard is changed to Liberty Boulevard, the city of Fayetteville would be responsible for changing small, green-blade street signs. Larger directional signage would fall under DOT purview, according to an emailed city statement.
Currently, there is no effort being made in the city to change the Bragg name.
“The city has had no knowledge of any application submitted at this point,” the city’s statement read.
The renaming process would be the same for Fort Bragg Road or other streets with names associated with the installation’s former name.
North Bragg Boulevard?
And then there is North Bragg Boulevard, or N.C. 24, most of which is under the jurisdiction of the town of Spring Lake in Cumberland County.
The county would handle applications and the front-end work. But the process of renaming roads in Spring Lake is “at the (Board of Aldermen’s) discretion with a majority of vote,” according to a statement from the town.
Spring Lake officials issued a statement saying that the town is not interested in any change.
“The town has NO plans to change the name now or anytime in the near future,” the statement read.
A short portion of North Bragg Boulevard — 370 feet, to be exact — falls under the jurisdiction of the county and its Board of Commissioners.
The name could be changed on that short stretch by a majority vote of the commissioners or by petition if signed by a majority of property owners of land aligning the street, according to county ordinances.
So it’s possible, in a future scenario, that Fayetteville could change Bragg Boulevard’s name while Spring Lake stands by the Bragg name. And the county would decide the issue for the 370 feet or roadway under its jurisdiction.
“Technically, yes, that is possible,” Howard said, adding that there are examples in the county of road names that change at intersections because of crossing municipal jurisdictions.
For now and the foreseeable future, the name will remain Bragg Boulevard off base even though the installation is now officially Fort Liberty.
Ben Sessoms covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at bsessoms@cityviewnc.com.
