Bonner Bridge Replacement
Exposed Access to Outer Banks Bridge Unreliable
Groups Call on North Carolina to Build Safer Route after Sea Reclaims Outer Banks Highway
Conservation groups today called on the North Carolina Department of Transportation to rethink its plan for replacing Bonner Bridge at its current location and instead build a safer, more reliable access route for Outer Banks residents and tourists after the ocean created multiple new inlets and destroyed sections of N.C. Highway 12 during Hurricane Irene, cutting off the barrier island again right before a holiday weekend. Storms continue to prove the warnings by NCDOT consultants, federal agencies, and university scientists that over wash is inevitable for stretches of N.C. Highway 12 within and near Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Read more in the press release.
Case Summary
Bonner Bridge, the only bridge connecting the mainland to North Carolina’s Hatteras Island is nearly five decades old and in need of replacing. The planned replacement span over Oregon Inlet ignores obvious problems with access to the bridge and would prove unsafe for travelers, disastrous for coastal wildlife, and an increasing bill for state taxpayers over coming years.
A Plan Built on Shifting Sands and Washouts
In violation of law, the Federal Highway Administration and N.C. Department of Transportation’s planned replacement fails to include how they will maintain a safe access route to the bridge via oceanfront Highway 12 through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, an exposed stretch of road that frequently washes out and is expected to become increasingly eroded over coming years. By ignoring the problem inherent in their plan, the agencies trap the state and its residents into hidden costs and environmentally damaging methods, including nourishing the beach, building dunes, and phasing in and continually repairing a series of additional bridges and road segments through the refuge. Such methods come at a financial cost which is not included in the current plans and will likely increase as more drastic measures are needed.
Safer Alternatives
SELC and other conservation groups support the consideration of safer bridge replacement alternatives. A ferry system as used successfully for Ocracoke Island or a longer bridge through the Pamlico Sound to the northern tip of Rodanthe would steer clear of the refuge and be safer and more reliable for visitors and residents. Such alternatives would avoid the natural flooding, erosion, and shifting sands that define the natural barrier islands.
Wildlife at Risk
Safer alternatives would bypass the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and eliminate the need for decades of construction activity within the refuge. Ongoing construction work inherent in the current plan would pose a constant threat to the natural island, migratory waterfowl and nesting sea turtles as well as their young. The chain of short bridges necessitated by the agencies’ current plan would harm the natural resources that make the refuge a treasured place for tourists, anglers, birders and other outdoor enthusiasts, as well as jeopardize the historic value of the scenic island refuge itself.
