NCDOT issues travel advisory for Bonner construction

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has recently issued an advisory for Dare County, its towns, and its residents and visitors to warn them of large precast construction materials for the Bonner Bridge replacement that will be traveling through the county to the work site at Oregon Inlet.

“With the Bonner Bridge replacement project, there will be large loads of precast members being trucked through Dare County,” NCDOT said in an email.  “The members are pilings, girders, and caps with a potential of approximately 1,000 loads throughout the duration of the project.”

DOT says the project’s precast supplier, Coastal Precast Systems in Chesapeake, Va., will be shipping the precast materials across the eastbound span of the Wright Memorial Bridge, south on U.S. 158 to Whalebone Junction, then south on Highway 12 to the Bonner Bridge construction site.

The department also adds that the majority of these shipments will be during nighttime hours during the visitor season, and predominantly nighttime hours during the off-season. The shipments will require an oversize/overweight trucking permit with yellow-light escort vehicles, which will be obtained through NCDOT.

NCDOT has already noted that travelers to Hatteras Island can expect daytime lane closures at the Bonner Bridge Monday through Friday until June 13. One lane will remain open during these closures, but motorists should allow extra time to reach their destinations.

Daytime lane closures are not allowed June 14 through Sept. 14.

However, nighttime lane closures, lasting up to 30 minutes, will be allowed from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following morning for the delivery of equipment. These lane closures will be well publicized ahead of time.

NCDOT is working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the local boating community to keep them informed of any construction activities and potential impacts to the navigation span at the existing bridge. Any impacts to navigation will be to ensure the safety of the boaters and will be for short periods of time.

Construction on the Bonner Bridge replacement began in March.  The bridge is expected to be open to traffic in the fall of 2018.