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Bonner Bridge on the Outer Banks

After 47 years of use and two decades of planning/debating, the replacement for the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge that connects the northern Outer Banks to Hatteras Island was finally approved last night.

The Virginia Pilot is reporting that the Federal Highway Administration made the approval official Monday night by signing a record of decision giving the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) green light to move forward with construction of the replacement bridge.

The planning and debating have been on-going for years, and the Bonner Bridge has far exceeded its expected 30-year life span. Now that an approval is in hand, a sense of urgency is taking over…rightly so. The Bonner Bridge is the only access to Hatteras Island by land, and nearly 2 million vehicles cross it every year (11,000 per day during the summer!). The bridge is vital to maintain tourism to the area, but it is also essential to safety since it is crucial for evacuations.

The replacement bridge will be designed and built under the same contract, and NCDOT already has three eligible design-build teams expected to compete for the contract. Bids for the $300 million project will open in June 2011, construction will start in early 2012, and the new bridge will be open to traffic is 2015…assuming all goes well.

The plan is to build the new bridge parallel with the current span, through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Mid-Currituck Bridge

The Virginia Pilot recently ran a very insightful article about the potential problems facing final approval for the proposed mid-Currituck Bridge.

The debates surrounding the bridge have echoed for years, and earlier this year it seemed a final conclusion in favor of the bridge was coming to a close. The proposed bridge would begin near Aydlett, about 25 miles south of the Virginia-North Carolina line, and stretch across the Sound to Corolla. It is believed that the bridge would cut travel time for visitors headed to northern Outer Banks.

At this point, the closest access to the Outer Banks is the Wright Memorial Bridge, about 20 miles south of Aydlett. As a result, travelers headed to the northern end of the Outer Banks are forced to head 20 miles south to Kitty Hawk, and spin around onto Rt. 12 to head north another 10 – 20 miles to reach Duck and Corolla. Clearly not ideal. The convoluted route has long been a source of safety concerns. A new bridge is expected to reduce evacuation times, boost tourism on both sides of the sound and curb pollution from idling vehicles.

However, there are concerns. Environmental, zoning, construction, etc. But the debates on these issue have already been voiced and heard, and the major project still seemed poised for approval.

Not so fast.

The scope of the US political spectrum shifted a bit with the recent elections in November, and the Republican lawmakers who clawed their way back into the NC General Assembly last month are looking for much needed budget cuts. Seems the mid-Currituck Bridge could be on the chopping block.

The state lawmakers need to close a projected $3 – 4 billion (yes, with a B!) deficit, and the bridge offers a pretty significant savings. The current plans for the bridge call for initial funding at $15 million per year, but that figure has the potential to rise to $28 million per year in 2013…and continue for 40 years.

Seems like the debate is far from over but conclusions could be reached in the near future.