BRIDGING THE GAPS:  DOT Highway 12 update
...WITH SLIDE SHOW

While Highway 12 remains closed through Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on Hatteras because of  damage caused by Hurricane Irene last month, the North Carolina Department of Transportation continues to make progress to fix the breaches and areas of overwash on the road to improve and reopen the highway.
 
Since efforts began to fill breached areas on Monday, Sept. 5, crews have moved 1,500 truckloads of sand from Avon to Rodanthe and Pea Island.
 
Over the weekend on Rodanthe, crews removed broken asphalt from road washouts and backfilled them with sand. Sand stockpiles were established at the south end of the Pea Island breach, called New New Inlet by many.

Crews continued grading and stockpiling sand at the sand pit site in Avon, while also performing clean up and maintenance on equipment that was damaged due to the saltwater from the waves from Hurricane Katia, which passed offshore last week.
 
At the temporary bridge location on Pea Island, crews continued installing sheet pile at the north end. The sheet pile is used to protect the end of the bridge and the roadway as it connects to the bridge.

The pile template for the interior piles was completed, installed and inspected. Five truckloads of the temporary bridge were delivered, along with two loads of H-shaped piling (support pilings for the end of the bridge), two pile-driving hammers, small work barges, and a tug boat. 

Crews continue to pre-assemble and sort temporary bridge components. Surveying for the bridge and grading for the roadway as it approaches the bridge continue.
 
Temporary Bridge Facts:

• Piling: 11 piles driven out of 82 total piles.
• Sheet Piling Bulkhead: 178 linear feet out of 1,096 total linear feet.
 
NCDOT estimates that the roadway could be fully reopened sometime in early October depending on weather conditions between now and then.
 
In an effort to keep residents and motorists informed about N.C. 12, NCDOT has launched a Highway12 recovery website and twitter feed. To see more photos of the work, please see NCDOT’s Flickr page.

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