BRIDGING THE GAP:  Asphalt  is underway and
pilings completed for Highway 12 repair
......WITH SLIDE SHOW AND VIDEO

North Carolina Department of Transportation and its contractors continue working on Highway 12 on Pea Island and north of Rodanthe, where breaches were cut by Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27.

The temporary bridge that will span the New New Inlet on Pea Island has reached the south side of the inlet, and work crews began laying asphalt on the south side of the inlet to connect the bridge to the portion of Highway 12 that was washed out in the storm.

 
At the Rodanthe breach area, crews continued the fine grading of the road bed in preparation of asphalt paving of the southbound lanes at the s-curves. The first layer of asphalt base for the northbound lane, south of the s-curves, was completed. Yesterday 17 truckloads of asphalt were delivered to the project. Crews began excavation near the roadway to install additional sandbags at the s-curves.
 
At the temporary bridge location on Pea Island, crews finished driving all of the piles needed for this project. The framework for the concrete footings at bent 1 was put into place.  An additional 15 feet of the bridge truss was assembled and the bridge was launched another 90 feet to the south.
 
Temporary Bridge Facts:

• Piling: 82 piles driven out of 82 total piles. (Complete)
• Sheet Piling Bulkhead: 726 linear feet out of 726 total linear feet. (Complete)
• Concrete Footings:  8 footings poured out of 12 total footings.
• Bridge Truss Spans: 511 linear feet out of 662 total linear feet.

 
Crews have made progress at both the Rodanthe breach area and the temporary bridge location. However, there are still several tasks that must be complete prior to the reopening of Highway 12.

These items are:
 
Pea Island Bridge

• Place concrete for 4 footings;
• Install a backwall to accommodate the transition between road and bridge on the south end of the bridge;
• Assemble approximately 151 feet of bridge truss and launch the bridge truss to the south end;
• Remove the temporary roller bearings and lower bridge onto permanent bearings; 
• Put grout/cement in 86 anchor bolts for the permanent bearings;
• Adjust bridge truss for a smooth ride onto and off the bridge;
• Install 12 devices, which are 900 pounds each, to prevent uplift of the bridge in a storm event;
• Bolt together and install 610 steel deck panels to the truss floor beams to create the riding surface;
• Complete backfilling the retaining walls at the ends of the bridge;
• Grade and pave the roadway approaches to the bridge.
• Install guardrail to the approaches and both sides of the bridge; and
• Pave 2-3 inches of asphalt on the deck panels. 

 
Roadway at the Pea Island Bridge and Rodanthe

• Continue fine grading to shape the road bed for asphalt paving;
• Pave approximately 9,000 tons of asphalt;
• Install approximately 82 sandbags at the south end of the S-curves;
• Reshape the dune were sandbags were installed;
• Reconstruct the shoulder and reshape the dunes; and
• Install permanent traffic control devices, reflectors and place pavement markings.

 
NCDOT estimates that the roadway could be fully reopened sometime in early October, depending on weather conditions between now and then. Much of the remaining work is very weather dependent.

 
In an effort to keep residents and motorists informed about Highway 12, NCDOT has launched an N.C. 12 recovery website (www.ncdot.gov/travel/nc12recovery) and twitter feed, and a blog. To see photos of the work, please visit NCDOT’s Flickr page.


(Slide show photos show the work on the temporary bridge at New, New Inlet and were taken from the south side of the breach.  Notice the remains of the old U.S. Fish and Wildlife headquarters that fell into the inlet a few weeks ago.  Other photos were taken at the S-curves north of Rodanthe and at Mirlo Beach. Notice in the video how long and wide New New Inlet is, much longer and wider than Isabel Inlet in 2003 just north of Hatteras village.)


FOR MORE INFORMATION

MORE ISLAND FREE PRESS COVERAGE ON REPAIRING THE GAPS:

BRIDGING THE GAPS: Storms slow work a bit, but reinforcements arrive
BRIDGING THE GAPS DOT - Update On Highway12 Repairs
BRIDGING THE GAPS: Mother Nature is not cooperating with repair efforts on Highway 12 ...WITH SLIDE SHOW
NCDOT update for Sept. 16
NCDOT update for Sept. 13 WITH SLIDE SHOW
Good Weather is forecast for Highway 12 repair efforts (Sept. 10) WITH SLIDE SHOW
High seas from Katia suspend road work Thursday night (Sept. 9) WITH SLIDE SHOW
Pieces of temporary bridge arriving daily (Sept. 9) WITH VIDEO
Progress on Highway 12 is going blazing fast (Sept. 8) WITH SLIDE SHOW
Repairing Highway 12 begins at Mirlo Beach (Sept. 6) WITH SLIDE SHOW
Temporary fix for Highway 12 may open road within a month (Sept. 2)

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