OBX bridges

Dec 15

North Carolina transportation officials say the Bonner Bridge on the Outer Banks could re-open next week if dredged sand placed around exposed pilings compacts well.
 
The transportation department said crews performed underwater sonar surveys and divers examined part of the bridge Wednesday.

Dare County Commissioner Allen Burrus said the initial indications from the review were better than expected.

Transportation district engineer Jerry Jennings says the bridge could reopen next week or as late as March.

The bridge was closed Dec. 3 because sand was washing away from the bridge supports. A dredge dug 30,000 cubic yards of sand over the weekend from the Oregon Inlet channel and put it around pilings.

An emergency ferry route was set up between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point, a 17-mile trip that takes more than two hours.

The state last week gave Carolina Bridge Company of Orangeburg, South Carolina a $1.6 million contract to place layers of interlocking jacks and sand bags on both sides of part of the bridge. The contract requires the work to be done in 90 days.



Dec 4th

Herbert C. Bonner Bridge - update
Two days of dredging from the Oregon Inlet navigation channel to an area under the Bonner Bridge has wrapped up, but it will be several days before the N.C. Department of Transportation knows if the span is any closer to reopening to traffic.
The dredge Alaska, which has been digging out the chronically clogged channel since early November, spent Saturday and Sunday moving sand from near Bodie Island spit to an area where sand surrounding a set of pilings had washed away, forcing the state to shut down the 50-year-old bridge a week ago   ... more here

Dec 3rd
Closing of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge.
Access to Hattaras Island is limited to ferry's from Stumpy point.  This time the access is not due to a bad storm but instead Oregan Inlet currents have damaged the footing of 10 pilings, at the south end of the bridge and left nine of them anchored in less than 20 feet of sand, the minimum level considered structurally safe. The bridge was closed Tuesday Dec 3rd.

Wright Memorial Bridge - lane closure continue

Work on a project to improve the ride across the Wright Memorial Bridge has resulted in the closing of the westbound span for up to eight months.   The project will replace the top of the existing concrete on the bridge deck with a layer of latex-modified concrete that will smooth out humps and provide a better ride.

The Mid Currituck Bridge??   http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/tourist-traffic-highlights-need-nc-bridge

Saturday Summer traffic to the Outer Banks routinely backs up more than 15 miles on U.S. 158. With 50,000 vehicles each Saturday in July/Aug this causes frustration with tourists and restricts what owners can do at the weekends.    "By the time people get to the beach, they are so angry, and they're taking it out on our staff at the visitor center," O'Neal said. "It's horrible."   The North Carolina Board of Transportation approved a funding formula that ranks projects by how they score in categories such as cost, saved travel time, congestion relief, safety and economic benefits. Local support and funding could be additional factors.  So, maybe the bridge project might get a decent ranking and become funded.  We can hope !