Rodanthe ‘Jug Handle’ Bridge Trestles Meet

Earlier this week, workers on the Rodanthe ‘Jug Handle’ Bridge project successfully connected two work trestles that are being used to build the bridge from both ends simultaneously.

The ‘golden spike’ moment effectively means that bridge building efforts on the north and south ends of the project have met, although girders and bridge decks will need to be placed before the bridge itself becomes one structure.

The bridge, which has been under construction since the summer of 2018, is designed to be a long-term transportation solution for N.C. 12. The N.C. Department of Transportation is raising the highway onto a 2.4-mile bridge that extends over Pamlico Sound between the southern end of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and Rodanthe, bypassing a vulnerable part of the highway known as the ‘S-curves’.

Completion of the project is scheduled for late 2021 or early 2022.