Park Service issues record of decision on Bonner Bridge

The National Park Service has issued a Record of Decision, adopting the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Assessment of North Carolina Department of Transportation’s plan for the replacement and demolition of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. 

The ROD has been approved and signed by NPS Regional Director Stan Austin and documents the decision by the NPS to take those steps necessary to implement the selected alternative to build a parallel bridge within the existing Highway 12 corridor.

The selected action provides the basis for the NPS to grant a Federal Highway Easement Deed to the state of North Carolina for the new bridge and to issue a Special Use Permit regulating the construction activities in the seashore associated with the project.

In the ROD, the Park Service notes that it served as a cooperating agency during the development of the 2008 FEIS and 2010 EA to document the decision to issue a special use permit and grant a federal highway easement deed to NCDOT for the construction of this project. The agency says it has determined, after an independent review, that the comments and suggestions submitted to the lead agencies during the NEPA process have been satisfied, and that the EA and FEIS comply with all NEPA-related requirements.

“Therefore, the NPS adopts the EA and FEIS without recirculating them,” the Park Service says in the ROD.

The Record of Decision is available on the NPS Planning Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha.  Additional information is available on the PEPC website or by contacting Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954, 252-475-9030.