Bonner Bridge Replacement

The only bridge to North Carolina’s Hatteras Island is more than four decades old and in need of replacing. The route currently favored for a new span over Oregon Inlet, however, would prove disastrous for coastal wildlife and a constant headache for drivers and state taxpayers.

A Plan Built on Shifting Sands

Like the current Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, its proposed replacement would connect to the north end of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. SELC is opposing this route, which would necessitate phasing in and continually repairing a series of additional bridges and road segments through the refuge due to flooding and erosion that naturally occur in this area.

Ongoing construction work would undermine the ecological integrity of the refuge and would pose a constant threat to migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. Moreover, natural migration of the shoreline could ultimately result in a bridge that sits over the beach and ocean with the refuge behind it.

Wildlife Put at Risk

State and federal officials are leaning toward this risk-prone option rather than a longer bridge over the Pamlico Sound that would bypass the refuge and eliminate the need for decades of construction activity in the wildlife preserve. Choosing the shorter route puts in jeopardy hundreds of thousands of snow geese and other waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, wading birds, and songbirds that rely on the refuge and its approximately 1,000 acres of managed impoundments.

The refuge also encompasses 13 miles of ocean beach that provide nesting habitat for federally protected species such as loggerhead sea turtles, green sea turtles, and the piping plover. The chain of short bridges the state hopes to build would do tremendous harm to these natural resources, which make the refuge a treasured place for anglers, birders and other outdoor enthusiasts.

A Safer Route for Motorists

A longer bridge through the Pamlico Sound to the northern tip of Rodanthe would steer clear of the refuge and would also be safer and more reliable for drivers. It would avoid the flooding, erosion, and shifting sands that are a defining feature of the natural barrier island system.