The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) released a video this week on social media that shows the progress on the newest bridge along the Outer Banks, the Jug Handle Bridge.
The 2.4 mile-long Jug Handle Bridge was 75% complete as of June 3, with a projected opening date of early 2022.
The Jug Handle Bridge is considered part of Phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the final bridge of the three new bridges on Hatteras Island to be built. (The Captain Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island was completed in the spring of 2018, and the Bonner Bridge replacement was completed in the spring of 2019.)
Once complete, the Jug Handle Bridge will connect the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, bypassing the S-Turns section of N.C. Highway 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches and ocean overwash during storms.
