NC gets a big federal grant to replace an aging ‘lifeline’ to the Outer Banks
The state has received a federal grant that will help it replace the 60-year-old bridge that carries U.S. 64 over the Alligator River between the Triangle and the Outer Banks.
The N.C. Department of Transportation will use the $110 million grant to build a new 3.2-mile span that will be both higher and wider than the existing one. It will include 65 feet of clearance over the navigation channel, eliminating the swing-span that now brings traffic to a halt when it opens to let boats pass.
The two-lane bridge, which runs between Tyrrell County and the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County, is expected to cost $268 million. NCDOT plans to begin building the new span parallel to the existing one in 2025.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced the federal grant separately but almost simultaneously Tuesday. In a statement, Cooper described the bridge as a lifeline for people going to and from the Outer Banks.
“It is one of the few options residents and visitors have for accessing our far eastern counties, and this bridge replacement will serve our state for decades to come,” Cooper said. “This is a great example of how President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law helps move along large projects that otherwise would be difficult to fund through traditional means.”
Tillis, one of 19 Republican senators who voted for the law in late 2021, also took credit for the federal money.
“This grant is a big win for Dare and Tyrrell counties and will ensure a safe and reliable bridge for generations to come,” Tillis said in a statement. “I am proud to have advocated for this funding, and thank local officials in both counties for their tireless advocacy for this grant as well. It’s clear that the bipartisan infrastructure law is already bringing major investments to our great state.”
In addition to eliminating the swing-span, the new bridge will have 12-foot travel lanes and something the current bridge does not: 8-foot shoulders on either side, with room for bicycles. Also, the railings along the side of the new bridge will be 4 feet 6 inches high, compared to the 2-foot, 10-inch railings on the existing bridge.
NCDOT has long-range plans to finish widening U.S. 64 to four lanes through Tyrrell and Dare counties. But the state won’t have money for that project for the foreseeable future, said NCDOT spokesman Jamie Kritzer, and the department determined it doesn’t make sense to build a four-lane bridge between two stretches of two-lane road.
“While it would be nice to replace the bridge with a four-lane section, it is not financially prudent to do so now, when we do not have a timeline for when U.S. 64 will be widened to four lanes in that area,” Kritzer wrote in an email. “Also, the cost would be significantly greater, and we need to balance this project with the other transportation needs in North Carolina.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 12:51 PM with the headline "NC gets a big federal grant to replace an aging ‘lifeline’ to the Outer Banks."
