Outer Banks “Jug Handle” Bridge gets ready to open

A new bridge to and from the Outer Banking companies will soon provide a lengthy-expression resolution to part of the N.C. barrier islands’ key freeway that has washed out over the many years for the duration of important storms.

The N.C. Section of Transportation claims the new 2.4-mile Rodanthe Bridge should really open up someday in mid-April. Work is mostly done on the $154 million span about the Pamlico Seem. A community working day, which consists of working races, is set for April 9, prior to the bridge will open to automobiles.

“The Rodanthe Bridge is an vital component of trying to keep N.C. 12 a trusted transportation corridor for Outer Banks residents and site visitors,” says NCDOT Division 1 Engineer Sterling Baker. “The Neighborhood Working day will be a good prospect for everybody to rejoice its completion.”

The span has been nicknamed the “Jug Handle” Bridge since of its condition. The bridge curves out above the audio parallel to the current N.C. 12. It raises the future area of N.C. Freeway 12 and sends it all over the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. 

NCDOT

Get the job done started on the bridge in 2018. It is the next stage of the Bonner Bridge substitution. That venture associated opening the 2.8-mile Marc Basnight Bridge around Oregon Inlet in 2019 and then the demolition of the outdated Bonner Bridge. The demolition was accomplished previous calendar year.

The Rodanthe Bridge will bypass a segment on N.C. 12 known as the S-curves, which has breached for the duration of storms. The state bought federal relief funding pursuing Hurricane Sandy in 2013 to rebuild eroded seashore as a short-term alternative to the vulnerable highway. The Rodanthe Bridge is NCDOT’s lengthy-term alternative, the agency claims.

Flatiron Constructors, dependent in Broomfield, Colorado, was the primary contractor on the Rodanthe Bridge. RK&K was the designer in partnership with Flatiron on the design and style-build deal.

The 107-span bridge demanded various complicated design characteristics.

To protect the natural environment, Flatiron applied its Advancing Rail Method, which straddled the recently designed bridge sections and could “leap frog short term perform sections,” the corporation says.

The corporation also employed precast piling, caps, girders, deck panels and other elements to guard against the Outer Banks’ severe temperature.

“In addition, the layout-construct approach permitted design, environmental permits, utility relocation, and building to get location under a person contract,” the corporation suggests, which saved time.

RK&K suggests the style factored in wind speeds of 135 mph, boat collisions, wave forces and scour countermeasures, for a 100-calendar year assistance lifestyle.