Plan for New Bridge to the Outer Banks Comes Up Short

For replacing the aging bridge to Hatteras Island, state and federal highway officials issued a final environmental impact statement in September 2008 favoring a plan that would be disastrous for migratory birds and wildlife. The span would parallel the route of the current bridge and make landfall at the north end of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. This would necessitate construction over time of additional bridges and road segments through the length of the refuge due to natural flooding, erosion, and shoreline migration, and would turn much of the refuge into a perpetual work zone.