AASHTO Journal, 20 September 2013
A federal judge ruled Monday in favor of moving the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Bonner Bridge project forward after receiving a request for a motion to stop the project due to environmental issues.
The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which carries N.C. 12 between the Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe in Dare County, was first opened to traffic in 1963 and is the only connection between mainland North Carolina and Hatteras Island. During peak summer periods, the bridge provides access to about 13,000 vehicles each day and is vital to the state’s $19.4 billion a year tourism industry. However, after half a century of wear and tear, including major storms, NCDOT decided to replace the bridge. The replacement project was put on hold due to lawsuits brought forth by the Southern Environmental Law Center (on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association) and NCDOT has focused on short-term repairs designed to keep the bridge operational for those who need to use it to get to work, school, and other important destinations.
To keep the bridge open and safe, NCDOT has already spent more than $56 million in necessary repairs and maintenance for the old bridge. NCDOT awarded PCL Civil Constructors, Inc. with a $215.8 million contract for the new bridge, and the sooner it can begin construction, the less money taxpayers need pay in constant repairs and maintenance for the old bridge.
“This is a great day for residents and millions of visitors to the Outer Banks, and a historic day for North Carolina,” said NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata in a statement. “We’ve spent millions of dollars of taxpayer money keeping the existing bridge open and we know it stands on borrowed time. With this ruling, we are prepared to move as quickly as possible to replace this lifeline bridge.”
NCDOT said one legal hurdle remains to replacing the bridge, but that it was working with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to resolve it. Once that issue has been addressed, NCDOT will move forward “immediately” with the new bridge construction. For the time being, however, NCDOT will next week begin two more repair projects (totaling $3.4 million) to assess girders, make concrete repairs, and make repairs to the supplemental supports of the existing bridge.
Additional information on NCDOT’s Bonner Bridge project is available here.
