Bridge meeting

Discussion about how best to replace the Bonner Bridge is still ongoing, believe it or not. There's a meeting planned for next week here on the island about the topic. Here's the email I received recently about this.

Beth Midgette, chairperson of the www.replacethebridgenow.com
committee, is coming to Ocracoke to conduct a public workshop on how
to give comment on the new preferred option for this project. There
are public hearings being held (in Manteo and Buxton) on July 6 and
8th, and the comment period ends 8/9/10. It's a busy time of year, but
we all know how important this is to our livelihood. Please make
special effort to attend if you can.

Ocracoke School Commons
Tuesday, June 29
7 pm

See background information below:
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Your help is needed NOW !

Replacing the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet is long
overdue. Any further delay risks the loss of this vital
transportation lifeline to Hatteras Island, which would be an economic
catastrophe for the region.
The people have had to endure an endless series of environmental
studies and challenges designed only to stall the process while
jeopardizing public safety.
Now a new preferred alternative from NCDOT calls for immediate
replacement of the Bonner Bridge. This reasonable and practical
approach has the support of the Federal Highway Administration, The
Environmental Protection Agency, and State and Local officials.
The new preferred alternative requires public hearings that are
scheduled for July 6 & 8.
We hope these will be the last public hearings needed before
construction can finally begin.
Let your voice be heard. Take a stand in support of replacing the bridge NOW.
Public comments are urgently needed from residents, visitors, vacation
property owners,
and businesses on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, throughout Dare
County and the region.

Public Hearings will be held –

July 6th – Manteo, 7:00pm
Dare County Commissioners Meeting Room
954 Marshall C. Collins Drive, Manteo

July 8th – Buxton, 7:00pm
Cape Hatteras Elementary School Cafeteria
47500 Middle Ridge Trail, Buxton

Voice your support at these hearings for NCDOT’s new Preferred Alternative.
Key components of the new Preferred Alternative would –

· Replace the Bonner Bridge immediately with a new parallel bridge
· Eliminate the “Long Bridge” Alternative, which is impractical
and unfundable
· Use a Transportation Management Plan for future development
of NC Hwy 12
· Recommend immediate construction without further
environmental studies & delays


Remember –

On an average day, 5,000 vehicles use the Bonner Bridge. This doubles
to almost 10,000 per day on a busy summer day. If this critical
transportation link were lost, ferry service would not be able to
support the economy and tourism that has developed since the bridge
opened to traffic in 1963. Even an emergency ferry could only
accommodate 650 cars a day, weather permitting.

For More Information –
Find complete details about the hearing process at:
www.replacethebridgeNOW.com


Homeowners and visitors who cannot attend the meetings but would like
to provide comments can mail them to Drew Joyner, Human Environment
Unit Head, NCDOT, 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1598.
They may also call or e-mail their comments to Drew Joyner at (919)
431-6700 or djoyner@ncdot.gov. Comments will be accepted through Aug.
9.

It's imperative to get as many comments as possible submitted in
support of moving the project forward to a "Record of Decision" the
other alternative would be that NCDOT would have to do yet another
draft supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
publish it, put it out for public comment, respond to public comment,
then release a Final supplement to the Final Environmental Impact
Statement publish it, put it out for public comment, respond to public
comment, then release a "Record of Decision". If the latter occurs it
would significantly and adversely affect the timeline for the
replacement of the bridge. We cannot afford any further delays!

The 2006 structural assessment for the bridge identified about 36
million worth of repairs...we are working our way through those now,
just to keep the load limits up. However, the engineers who wrote the
assessment stated that regardless of the repairs, due to the "advanced
stages of deterioration" replacement by 2016 is a "necessity". Even
if we start next spring, we are pushing that "replace by" date too
close for comfort since we are looking at a 4 year build time, let
alone if the whole FEIS rigmarole has to happen yet again.