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September 25, 2008
Bonner Bridge replacement finally makes some final progress
By IRENE NOLAN  The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have signed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the replacement of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which spans Oregon Inlet and connects Hatteras Island to the mainland in Dare County. A public comment period is open until Monday, Oct. 27. “I am really happy,” said Allen Burrus of Hatteras, vice-chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners and a member of the county’s citizens’ action committee to replace the bridge (www.replacethebridgenow.com). “They finally made something final after 17 or 18 years.” “I am thrilled that we have finally made it to this point that we have not reached before,” added Beth Midgett, chairwoman of the county’s bridge committee. “I hope that now that we are here, no one uses their special agenda to stop it. Let’s put public safety first.” The sage of replacing the aging bridge, which was opened in 1963) has gone on for almost 20 years, as various options have been debated and various groups have studied the issues with replacing a bridge and dealing with the highway on a dynamic barrier island. (For more background on the effort to replace the bridge, see a story on this Web site at http://islandfreepress.org/Archives/2007.09.05-PlansForReplacingTheBonnerBridgeMovingForward.html and a guest column about the phased approach at http://islandfreepress.org/Archives/2007.11.15-GuestColumnOptionForReplacingTheBridge.html) There have been several versions of the draft Environmental Impact Statement with addendums and updates. This is the first final EIS. The 1,300-page document is a comprehensive study of the potential social, economic, and environmental impacts related to the bridge’s replacement. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires NCDOT to draft an FEIS before it can move forward with construction on a federally funded project. NCDOT and FHWA plan to complete the final planning document, the Record of Decision, by the end of the year. NCDOT plans to build the preferred alternative, known as the Parallel Bridge with Phased Approach/Rodanthe Bridge Alternative, in several phases. The preferred alternative includes constructing a new Oregon Inlet bridge (Phase I) west of the existing structure and later elevating N.C. 12 onto a series of bridges during Phases II-IV. The design/build contract for Phase I is scheduled to be let in the spring of 2009. Replacement of the Oregon Inlet bridge is expected to be complete in 2014. The schedule for construction of the N.C. 12 bridges will be based on coastal conditions and the availability of funds. The project is estimated to cost between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion, which includes construction and maintenance costs through the year 2060. Some have concerns about the phased approach to the overwash problems on northern Hatteras Island during storms. In this week’s northeaster, Highway 12 has been closed off and on as high tides send sand and water onto the road. “We’ve been fighting these battles for years,” Midgett said about the highway. “The amount of sand they moved off the road today – well, they move that much snow all winter long in the western parts of the state…It’s our snow….So what if we have to do this a couple times a year.” Copies of the FEIS are available online and will also be available at the following locations by Oct. 6: Dare County public libraries in Hatteras village, Kill Devil Hills and Manteo; the Fessenden Center in Buxton; the Dare County Planning and Inspections satellite office in Buxton; the Dare County manager’s office in Manteo and the U.S. Post Office at 25969 N.C. 12 in Rodanthe. Public comments should be mailed to: Gregory J. Thorpe, Ph.D., Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch, NCDOT, 1548 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1548. Citizens can also call or e-mail their comments to NCDOT Project Planning Engineer Beth Smyre, P.E. at (919) 733-7844 extension 333 or bsmyre@ncdot.gov. To read the FEIS, view project maps and photos, and access bridge history, visit NCDOT’s Bonner Bridge Web site, click here: http://www.ncdot.org/projects/bonnerbridgerepairs/ The FEIS, chapter by chapter (and it’s very long), can be found at: http://www.ncdot.org/projects/bonnerbridgerepairs/newsupdates/#suplimental Go to the bottom of the page. The chapters are listed under Environmental Impact Studies, Sept. 17, 2008, Final Environmental Impact Statement. More information is also available on the county Web site: http://www.replacethebridgenow.com/ |
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