- The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over the Oregon Inlet. Photo by C. Leinbach
Single-lane on Bonner Bridge Monday through Thursday to follow safety check
RALEIGH — The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over the Oregon Inlet, linking Nags Head to Pea Island, will close from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Monday (Sept. 15) while crews perform a mobile scan of the deck.
N.C. Department of Transportation crews will halt traffic on both ends of the bridge for 30 minutes as they perform the routine scan of the bridge deck.
The bridge will reopen to traffic at 9:30 a.m. with a single lane closure through 4:30 p.m.to allow crews to verify the location data gathered that morning, specifically along the southern portion of the bridge. The lane closure will continue Tuesday (Sept. 16) through Thursday (Sept. 18), from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day.
The single-lane closure will only be set up on the bridge where crews are located and will move as their safety check moves along the bridge deck. NCDOT traffic crews will direct traffic on the bridge through the lane closure.
Motorists are advised to use caution while traveling in the area and to prepare for delays. For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit the NCDOT traffic website or follow NCDOT on Twitter.
Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smart phone. Then, bookmark it to save for future reference.
NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.
This final scan will provide the DOT with the last piece of information it needs to have a historical database of location coordinates for the bridge deck.
With this information, NCDOT will be able to evaluate the bridge following hurricanes and other severe weather events at any time of the year.
Once this scan is complete, mobile scans will take place once a year and after severe weather events.
During the course of the last year, the NCDOT has performed mobile scans every three months on the deck of the Bonner Bridge.
In addition to deck scans, NCDOT also performs monthly underwater sonar scans, which enable engineers to check for signs of scour, where sand has drifted away from the pilings. The monthly underwater sonar scan for September also will take place Monday morning.
—NCDOT press release
