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Thursday, September 8, 2011
News Conservation groups urge N.C. Department of Transportation to rethink Outer Banks bridge
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn on Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 4:31 PM
Hurricane Irene took a bite out of several parts of the country, including the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where a chunk of Bonner Bridge on NC 12 — which runs through a wildlife refuge — washed out to sea.
Now, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association are asking the North Carolina Department of Transportation not to rebuild the unusual island-connecting Bonner Bridge. The environmental groups say a new bridge would be safer and less vulnerable behind and south of Hatteras Island.
Here's a snip from their press release:
“The state’s present scheme to replace Bonner Bridge at its current location and ignore the repeated, inevitable breaching south of the bridge is irresponsible,” said Derb Carter, director, Carolinas Office of the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The state should put reliability and people’s safety first, build the safer, less-exposed ‘long bridge’ that bypasses the most rapidly eroding section of the island, and let the ocean take its inevitable course in the wildlife refuge.”Ignoring repeated warnings and growing evidence that N.C. 12 cannot be maintained through the wildlife refuge, and without any plans or funds secured for highway maintenance, NCDOT’s plan to replace the bridge in its current location will leave residents and tourists vulnerable. Its plan relies on sections of N.C. 12 that were destroyed by Hurricane Irene and no longer exist. It will leave residents and tourists dependent on ferries to get on or off Hatteras Island each time a storm predictably washes out sections of N.C. 12. NCDOT depends repeatedly on federal taxpayer funds each time N.C. 12 washes out and strands people on Hatteras Island instead of seeking a better access route for the long-term security of the island and people.
...
In 2003, all state and federal agencies involved in the bridge replacement project agreed that building a long bridge to bypass the eroding beaches of the wildlife refuge was the preferred option for Hatteras Island. Political pressure, however, forced the agencies to reconsider. If the project had gone forward according to schedule at that time, the bridge across the sound would be completed and now open to traffic.
Read the entire release here.
Here's video from the U.S. Coast Guard of the damage Hurricane Irene caused to Bonner Bridge, which is part of N.C. Highway 12, as well as other portions of the Outer Banks (and, turn the sound down; you're welcome):
Speaking of...
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Lunch Break (3/3/16): NCDOT reassesses relationship with Cintra after putting ring on it
Mar 3, 2016 -
Lunch Break (10/5/15): Hurricane Joaquin causes problems throughout Carolinas, offshore
Oct 5, 2015 -
First Drip (8/19/15): DENR asks to put enforcement of coal ash cleanups on hold
Aug 19, 2015 - More »
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