Biennial inspections of Basnight Bridge, Bonner Pier to begin next week
The N.C. Department of Transportation will be performing federally-mandated inspections of both the Basnight Bridge on N.C. 12 and the Bonner Bridge Pier on Oregon Inlet beginning next week.
The work will require daytime lane closures for the bridge, while small sections of the pier, which is used for sightseeing and fishing, will be closed to the public while inspections are underway.
The inspections are a part of the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS), under which thorough inspections of bridge decks and support systems are required every two years.
The impacts of the inspection process are:
Basnight Bridge – Beginning March 3, there will be weekday daytime lane closures between a half-mile to a mile in length. The lane closures will be marked by flaggers. Motorists can expect delays of approximately 5-10 minutes.
Bonner Bridge Pier – Inspections will begin March 17, but the pier itself will remain open to the public. Sections of the pier will be cordoned off by traffic cones to keep pedestrians from accessing areas where inspections are taking place. The pier may be closed for brief periods while platform trucks are moved on and off the structure. The pier is the last remaining remnant of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which carried N.C. 12 traffic over Oregon Inlet between 1963 and 2019.
All work is expected to be complete within three weeks.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.
