The North Carolina Department of Transportation issued a media release this week on the status of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet, which is Hatteras Island?s only highway link to the northern beaches and the mainland.
The release was not the usual ?just the facts? about ferry schedules or highway or bridge repair work. It was quite long and detailed, summing up the history of the effort to replace the bridge and the challenges that remain.
The rather ominous headline was ?One of the state?s most crucial lifelines stands on borrowed time.?
It was interesting timing for such a media release. DOT, Dare and Hyde counties, and numerous residents and visitors are just sitting tight for now ? waiting for word from a federal judge who will decide whether or not we will have a new bridge before the old one must be closed.
U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flanagan of the Eastern District in North Carolina in New Bern will decide a lawsuit that would stop the DOT?s plan for a replacement on the voluminous administrative record.
The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the lawsuit in July 2011 against the Federal Highway Administration and the state Department of Transportation on behalf of its clients ? The Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association. The legal action aims to stop the DOT plan to replace the bridge with a parallel span and address problems with ?hotspots? on Highway 12 as they become problematic.
The Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative is a defendant-intervenor in the lawsuit. All of CHEC?s power lines run underneath the bridge and without it, the cost of electricity to Hatteras would be cost prohibitive.
This year, SELC also went to state Superior Court over the Major CAMA Permit issued by the Coastal Resources Commission. It won a court hearing for its clients, which has not yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, there is a stay on the permit.
So we now have the bridge replacement bogged down in two complicated lawsuits. Most expect the state court will wait for Judge Flanagan to rule before tackling the major permit issues.
All of the parties to the lawsuit filed their various arguments for summary judgment and answers to the arguments by late November of last year ? as instructed by the court.
Many expected a ruling last winter ? maybe January or February. However, here we are in September with no ruling from Flanagan.
You can certainly have sympathy for this judge who is tackling an administrative record that spans 20 years and contains more than 90,000 pages.
However, the fact of the matter is that time has run out for the Bonner Bridge.
We must start building a replacement very, very soon or must face the consequences of a failure of the bridge.
Many fear a catastrophic failure of the bridge. But DOT has been meticulous about inspecting the bridge and doing maintenance. It is more likely it would be shut down by state officials because it was so old and decrepit that it could no longer be made safe. Or perhaps there would be load limits that would make getting needed supplies to the island very difficult.
DOT notes that it has already spent nearly $56 million on repairs, maintenance, and special inspections. Another $2 million in work will start this fall.
?We simply can?t sustain this model much longer,? said NCDOT Chief Deputy Secretary of Operations Jim Trogdon. ?The longer we wait, the more taxpayer money is spent patching a bridge that must be replaced, and the risk becomes greater that we could have to close the Bonner Bridge before the new one is ready.?
The state transportation department and the Federal Highway administration issued a Record of Decision to build the parallel bridge in 2010. A $215.8 million contract for the design and replacement was awarded in July 2011.
Construction was to have started last January and the bridge completed in 2015.
The contractor has done pile testing, but that?s it. No work has started on the bridge and won?t until the legal issues are resolved.
You can do the math and figure that the bridge will probably now not be completed in 2015.
And the next piece of bad news is the 2006 structural condition assessment of the Bonner Bridge by four independent outside firms hired by DOT. Maybe you read it back then, but take another look.
The report concluded that the condition of the bridge was ?poor.? Here are those conclusions:
The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge is in advanced stages of deterioration and is nearing the end of its lifespan.
The bridge is anticipated to be replaced within the next ten years. The findings of the NBIS inspection and in-depth assessment are summarized as follows:
1. The bridge, in its current state, is safe for use by the traveling public and does not require any weight limit posting. However, due to the advanced stages of deterioration, replacement of the Bonner Bridge within the next ten years remains a necessity.
2. Delamination, spalling, and cracking are widespread and the bridge had an overall NBIS rating of ?POOR.?
3. Testing indicates that the concrete is generally of good quality and strength. However, chloride ions above the corrosion threshold exist to a depth of 4.5? in the columns and pile caps; therefore, active corrosion is occurring and will continue to accelerate.
4. Structural capacities of the bridge components are adequate except for Bent Caps 196, 197, and 198. These caps are overstressed in shear, and it is recommended that additional concrete subcaps be placed to help in carrying the shear load to the crutch bents.
5. Pile loads in several locations were in excess of the 50 ton design capacity, nevertheless the piles have been performing satisfactorily over the past decade provided that the supporting soil substrate is above the critical scour elevation. Pile jackets are recommended for specific deficiencies in seven piles.
6. Re-evaluation of the critical scour elevations is recommended to determine if these elevations need to be revised for a computed 70 ton capacity.
7. Repairs of deteriorated concrete are necessary to minimize the advancement of deterioration, maintain the structural capacity of the bridge, and allow continued use over the next ten years. The repairs have been grouped into four groups ? A, B, C, and D.
8. Group A repairs should be made within the next six to twelve months.
9. Group B and C repairs should be made within the next two years.
10. Group D repairs should be made within the next four years.
It is anticipated that if these repairs are made properly by an experienced contractor, the Bonner Bridge will be capable of remaining in service and functioning under current design loads for the next ten years.
The executive summary of the report is only 10 pages long and has some photos of damage to the bridge by salt air and turbulent currents in the inlet that are quite unsettling.
With legal issues to be settled and time for construction, we are now looking at a 2016 completion ? probably at the earliest.
We are there ? at 2016, at the point of facing unthinkable consequences if we don?t get busy building a new bridge.
Environmental groups that oppose the replacement plan have unrealistic expectations that the state can afford a $1.15 billion, 17-mile bridge ? that would bring its own problems of safety and pollution of Pamlico Sound waters and many other issues.
Even better, these outside environmental groups would like access to Hatteras be limited to ferries, which the latest DOT study shows are not only outrageously expensive but impractical in our shallow sound waters.
The replacement of the Bonner Bridge has been studied for more than 20 years with numerous environmental assessments, environmental impact statements, supplemental environmental impact statements, studies, and public meetings.
?This project has been studied more than any other project in the state?s history,? said Trogdon in DOT?s media release. ?We held extensive public outreach and addressed concerns and comments from state and federal environmental agencies, and took all of this into account in making our decision. Anytime we plan a transportation project, we have a responsibility to meet the needs of that community while also doing the least harm to the environment.?
The release concludes, ?For now, NCDOT will continue doing all it can to keep the bridge safe and the lifeline open. The residents along the Outer Banks watch and wait with great anticipation. They know all too well that the unpredictability of Mother Nature means the Bonner Bridge stands now on borrowed time.?
We can only hope and pray that Judge Flanagan has seen that 2006 structural condition assessment and realizes that we are now really looking at the day when time may run out for the Bonner Bridge.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Click here to read the NCDOT media release.
Click here to read the executive summary of the 2006 structural condition assessment.
Click here to see the timeline for bridge replacement that starts in 1989.
Click here to see maintenance of and repairs to the bridge since 1989.
