AASHTO Journal, 6 December 2013
North Carolina Department of Transportation officials announced Tuesday the department closed the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge along the outer banks after discovering “immediate safety concerns.”
“Closing the Bonner Bridge is necessary to keep all travelers safe, but we know it will have a devastating effect on the people who live along and visit the Outer Banks,” said NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata in a statement. “We will work to safely reopen this vital lifeline quickly, and hope to be able to begin construction on a new bridge as soon as possible.”
The 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 (SELC) (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. NCDOT has spent more than $56 million in “necessary repairs” to keep the bridge open since the push to rebuild it began more than 20 years ago. In September, a federal judge ruled that NCDOT could move forward after those legal delays (see related AASHTO Journal story here), though the SELC appealed the ruling that would allow construction on the new bridge to start, halting the project again.
Until the bridge is safe to reopen, NCDOT officials said its ferry division will provide support to move people and vehicles off the Outer Banks and to work, school, and other destinations. The emergency ferry route schedule is available here.
Additional information on the Bonner Bridge replacement project is available here.
