News on the Mid-County Bridge
The North Carolina Senate budget of $19.7 billion released in June restores funding for the mid-Currituck bridge .
The budget would allocate $15 million annually for the next two years for gap funding toward a $660 million toll bridge across the Currituck Sound from Aydlett to Corolla.
Two years ago the General Assembly set aside $15 million annually to fill the gap that tolls would not cover, but bridge construction was delayed. The latest budget reallocates the $30 million set aside over the last two years to buy school buses.
Also of interest...
After two decades of extensive environmental study and public outreach, the N.C. Department of Transportation awarded a contract to replace the Bonner Bridge in Dare County. Secretary Gene Conti awarded the $215.8 million contract to the design-build team of PCL Civil Constructors Inc. and HDR Engineering Inc. of the Carolinas. The contract amount is $25.8 million less than NCDOT’s estimated cost to build the new bridge.
The existing Bonner Bridge was built in 1962 and has far exceeded its lifespan. In the past 10 years, NCDOT has spent $26.5 million rehabilitating the 2.7-mile bridge to address the deterioration that comes with age in its coastal setting. PCL Civil Constructors is set to open the new bridge to traffic in spring 2015 and demolish the majority of the existing bridge in 2016. A portion of the existing bridge will remain in place and be transformed into a fishing pier.
