Preliminary Bonner Bridge Inspection Reveals No Storm Damage

Piled-up sand on the road on the south end of the bridge, he said, prevented him from driving further south on N.C. 12 to inspect the temporary truss bridge over the new inlet in Pea Island that was opened up last August during Hurricane Irene.

A DOT road crew on Sunday had reported seeing scouring around the south end of the bridge, he said, but the extent of it could not be determined.

Odom said the truss bridge’s structure is not the concern —it’s built on concrete pilings – as much as the risk of it washing away if it is undermined.

As soon as a bulldozer can be driven over Bonner Bridge, Odom said, the sand will be cleared off the road so he can get to the temporary bridge to inspect it.

In a press release issued on Sunday, DOT announced that the Bonner Bridge was closed that evening after DOT inspectors determined that the bridge was “unsafe for traffic at this time.”

But Odom said there was no specific problem that prompted the closure, other than the reality of the storm’s destructive potential and the inlet’s powerful currents.

“We want to make sure that everything is alright before we let anybody cross,” he said.

Built in 1963, the Bonner Bridge is about 20 years overdue for replacement. A construction project for the new bridge began this month, and the DOT says that regular inspections and repairs have kept the current bridge safe.

Flooding and overwash from Sandy have forced closures on N.C 12 from the Oregon Inlet bridge to Rodanthe. Parts of the highway are also impassable north of Buxton, and in Frisco, Hatteras and Ocracoke. Equipment and crews will assess the road damage after the storm passes and the water recedes, the press release said.