THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050186
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: OREGON INLET LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Engineering tests to find out the best way to build a new bridge across the Oregon Inlet will begin early in April, a North Carolina Department of Transportation engineer said Monday.
Planners want to get a head start on design work at Oregon Inlet in case the present 3.3-mile Bonner Bridge begins to deteriorate more rapidly.
``We know we'll have to build a new bridge in the next few years, so we want to have the plans ready and on the shelf where we can get them if we have to move in a hurry,'' said William Jones, a DOT spokesman in Raleigh.
The replacement span is expected to cost more than $90 million.
Oregon Inlet is often battered by fierce coastal storms that funnel powerful currents around the existing bridge supports. Several underwater reinforcing efforts around the pilings have been necessary since the Bonner Bridge was opened in 1963.
The new bridge tests are expected to begin April 8 about 200 feet west of the Hatteras Island approaches to Bonner bridge. The tests will involve sinking two deep shafts into the sandy bottom of Oregon Inlet to determine how to design concrete pilings for the next bridge.
``We'll put down one 56-inch diameter concrete cylinder around 140 feet long,'' said John Ledbetter, a DOT soil and foundation expert.
``Then we'll put down another long 66-inch pipe and connect the two. When we do load-testing on these two structures we'll be able to determine how to design the supports for the new bridge,'' Ledbetter said.
The Board of Transportation will meet in Charlotte on Friday to consider contracts for new highways.
Last July, the board approved $2 million for next month's load testing. The board is expected to OK a private engineering contract for the preliminary work on the new bridge this week.
State and the federal governments will share the $90-million to $100-million estimated Bonner Bridge replacement cost. The Federal Highway Fund will provide 80 percent of the money, and the state 20 percent.
A new bridge across the inlet is a high priority for state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who has family links to many of the old Outer Banks families that are served by the vital connection between Nags Head and Hatteras Island.
Basnight, who is president pro tem of the Senate, last week arranged for a conference between Larry Goode, DOT highway administrator, and Norma Ware, Basnight's top legal and legislative aide, to expedite plans for the new bridge.
``A safe and sound Oregon Inlet bridge is vital to the welfare of many thousands of people who live or visit here each year, and we plan to keep it that way,'' said Ware, relaying a statement by Basnight.
Ware said her visit with Goode was to make sure all planning - financial and otherwise - was on track and to learn what further assistance might be needed from the General Assembly. by CNB